RWBY: The Universal Will
by LazerClub
Summary: Sometimes, we don't get to decide what happens next. Things can go from good to bad in the blink of an eye. It's in these moments however, that we are able to define ourselves. Are you going to give up and accept it or will you keep pushing forward? Me? I don't even care anymore. I just want to go home.
1. Preface

_Hello, and thank you for choosing to check this one out!_

 _This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction. Ever. The reason why I chose to give it a shot is for two main reasons._

 _1\. I've been feeling burnt out. I write articles as part of my job, and recently I've been less than happy with my work. It just seemed that they're not up to snuff with what I used to put out. I'm hoping this fanfic will help me unwind a bit and rediscover the joy of writing. Now that I think about it, I've never written purely for fun before so I'm not assuring this will be as good as some of the others on this site, but I will try my best to at least make it decent. I'm thinking of this as a writing exercise._

 _2\. I only really started getting into RWBY two weeks ago. I didn't expect it to click with me the way it did, but here I am making my first fanfiction off of it. I just fell in love with the world and the characters they were able to come up with. There are some things that I wish were better handled storywise, so I'll try to add in this fic what I felt was lacking in the show. Other than that, this fic will mostly follow the canon plot._

 _Just before we get into the meat of it, I should forewarn you that this will be a_ _ **self-insert**_ _. Like I stated I wanted to have fun with this one, and I think it's a dream come true for any fan to actually meet fictional characters from a franchise they love. However I am aware of the traps that people usually get into when writing OC/I's. I'll try my best to avoid falling into any of these. In addition, my insert will come in having zero knowledge of the franchise._

 _The cringiest/eye-rolling parts will hopefully only be in the introductory 3 chapters, particularly with how I got to Remnant and the weapon I have myself wield. I admittedly got lazy when it came to thinking of a weapon or an origin point. I wanted this story to focus more on the interactions and how the plot will go about with me in it, so I didn't want to over complicate certain things. Just to give a hint on the weapon, It's ripped out from one of my favorite video games, which is referenced in the title, so there you go. I will be taking some liberties with my own ideas to how it will work in the world of RWBY, particularly with my aura and chosen semblance._

 _Constructive criticism is always welcome. If you feel something's off, find a glaring error or think a part could have been written better, let me know. I deal with it most of the time so I'm used to it._

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/objects/places referenced in the following story apart from my own self insert._


	2. A Jump Start

2:00 AM

A single light flickered in the dark street from the window of a small house. Inside, a man was all that remained awake, his eyes glued intently at the screen before him. The faint sound of clicking echoed in an almost metronomic rhythm, the source of which was an arcade stick nestled on his lap. A few moments passed by before the man suddenly let leaned back on his chair and let out an exasperated sigh, his eyes left looking at the ceiling.

"Dammit, this isn't going to work."

He was frustrated. Since he got home from work, he had immediately turned on his PS4 and booted up _Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2_. He had been theorycrafting during lunch earlier that day and was excited to test out a new technique he thought of in training mode after work. Unfortunately for him it wasn't as good as he initially made it out to be.

Letting out another groan, he looked back at the screen. Sol Badguy's smug grin wasn't helping him ease his inner tension.

' _It's more like the asshole is taunting me at this point_ ' he thought to himself. His eyes went to the clock. ' _2:30?! Didn't realize I was at it for that long._ '

"Maybe I'll think up of something again tomorr-... uh later"

The man got up and motioned to turn off the console. After doing his nightly routine, he switched the lights off and lied down on his bed. A minute had barely passed when his phone suddenly lit up.

' _Are they seriously trying to contact me at this hour'._

Looking at the message, it was a reminder from his boss regarding a couple of deadlines he had to meet later.

' _Does this guy even know what the word 'rest' means?!_ '

Tired, frustrated and now dreading the day that was to come, he forced himself to just go to sleep.

* * *

"Ughh…."

The man groaned in discomfort. ' _Did I fall off the bed again? Been happening way too much recently_ '. As his senses started to come to, he noticed something odd.

' _Huh, I don't remember the floor being this… prickly?_ '

Questioning the unfamiliar sensation, the man struggled to open his eyes. After fighting away the drowsiness, he took a quick glance at his surroundings.

This definitely wasn't his room anymore. If anything it looked like a dense forest. Trees of various heights towered above him as sunlight gently penetrated through small pockets in the thick foliage. The faint chirping of birds could be heard in the distance.

' _I've heard of lucid dreaming before, never thought I'd actually experience it though._ '

As the man sat up from the grass, he noticed that both his hands seemed to be grasping something. Looking first with his right, he saw that he was still holding on to his phone.

' _Oh yeah I remember checking my messages right before bed.'_ He recalled. ' _Did it seriously follow me in a dream?_ '

Veering over to his left hand, things were suddenly getting a bit more interesting. At first he couldn't make sense of what it was. It looked like a long red metallic brick. His hand was firmly on what he assumed was a handle, and at the end was what looked like a wheel. Turning the thing over to its side, he managed to make out what appeared to be a giant red cigarette lighter. It took a bit of time to process the information before it finally clicked in his brain and realization began to set in. ' _Wait, isn't this…_ '

His trail of thought was interrupted by a deafening howl. The man got up quickly, pocketing his phone and picking up the lighter-looking object. ' _Ok don't panic_ ' he told himself in an effort to stay collected. ' _I'm dreaming here. If anything insane pops out I should be able to change it just by thinking it to be something else._ '

He suddenly heard a snarl from behind. The man quickly turned and noticed some rustling in the large bushes. He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"B-boy I sure hope that's a cute puppy about to run up and cuddle me." He stuttered out loud.

The shrub in question suddenly went silent.

' _Did it work_?' The man wondered, the sudden stillness not helping ease his sense of foreboding. After a good minute of inaction in the shrubbery, the man let out a sigh of relief.

Just as when he started calming down, a large black mass leapt out of the bushes. Surprised the man fell on the ground with a hard thud.

"Aghh… dammit." The man exclaimed rubbing his backside trying to dull the pain. A sudden growl snapped him back to his senses. The man turned to the direction of the noise, and his heart stopped.

In front of him was a creature unlike any he had ever seen. Its body was jet black giving it an almost silhouette-like figure. Bone like protrusions were sticking out along different parts of its body. It stood on its hind legs and towered above him like a black monolith. Its hands were lined with sharp claws, ready to slash and tear at a moment's notice. Most menacing of all was its head, which was encased in what appeared to be a skull, long and narrow shaped like a wolf, lined with red glowing markings. Its jaws were open, baring a rather impressive set of fangs. Completing the horrific visage was a pair of yellow eyes that gave off an eerie red luster.

The man was too shocked to move, his entire body trembling. ' _C'MON STOP GAWKING!_ ' he scolded himself mentally. Managing to quickly collect himself somehow, the man got up and began sprinting as fast as his legs were able. The beast let out another howl and the pursuit began.

' _If falling down was a pain in the ass, I'm not taking any chances on what that thing might do to me!_ '

In his panic, the man failed to notice that the predator was not alone. More had joined the chase all eager for the hunt.

His intense running led him out of the dense forest and into an open area. Unfortunately he was greeted by a dead end; a very steep crag, something he knew he definitely couldn't climb normally.

'SHIT!' He mentally cursed. A loud howl reminded him his pursuers were close behind. In a few seconds the beasts savagely burst out of the forest. About a dozen of them began encircling him

' _FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK_ '

The wolf-like creatures continued, slowly closing in on their prey and backing him up against the wall. With their victim helplessly trapped, one of them decided it was the opportune time to lunge in.

Exhausted with no other options the man instinctively raised up the giant lighter, hoping against hope to miraculously defend against the incoming onslaught. Unfortunately his efforts were in vain and the creature managed to knock the object out of his hands. Now totally defenseless, the man's face twisted into an expression of pure fear. He closed his eyes, bracing for the inevitable. The rest of the pack jumped in for the kill.

"AGHHHHHHHH!"

The man screamed as he expected to feel the fangs and claws sink into his blocking arms.

The beasts however, would never make contact with him.

Suddenly the man felt something rise inside of him like he was taking a particularly deep breath. Then from out of nowhere, he heard a thundering bang, as if a bomb had exploded right in front of him. A couple of smaller detonations followed the sudden blast, akin to the sound of multiple firecrackers. Throughout the entire ordeal, the man's eyes had remained tightly shut for fear of what he assumed was certain death. He waited a bit before finally reopening his eyes. What he saw left him wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open.

Where the pack of wolf-like beasts initially was, nothing was left but a large crater, big enough to fit a small house. Little embers crackled on the burnt patches of grass surrounding the giant hole as well as on some of the vegetation at the edge of the thicket. Taking a quick look behind, he noticed the once solid wall of rock was now lined with cracks as if smashed full-on by a wrecking ball.

Out of breath and still quivering, the man fell on one knee. "Well… that certainly… was a surprise" he said in between his panting. Suddenly, both his legs started numbing out. Shortly after he collapsed face first on the ground, drained from the recent ordeal.

From the periphery of his consciousness, he suddenly heard a noise. He could barely make out what it was, but it sounded like two people talking.

"Wha… hap…en… …ere!?" he heard someone exclaim, a woman.

"Gly… …ver ther…!" another voice answered back, this time a man.

This was the last thing he heard. At this point the fatigue had proven too much, and his world suddenly went black.


	3. Welcome to Remnant

"…huh?"

The man slowly opened his eyes. If the fluorescent lighting above him was any indication, he was most assuredly not in the forest anymore. Sitting up, he made a quick check of his surroundings. Nope, he still wasn't in his room.

Judging by the number of beds and the predominantly white motif, it looked more like a hospital, or perhaps an infirmary. By his bedside was a night table where he found his phone as well as the giant red lighter leaning on the nearby wall.

"Ah, so you're finally awake."

He immediately turned to the direction of the voice. Standing by the door to the room was a rather distinguished looking man. He had messy grey hair falling loosely above his eyes. He wore a peculiar pair of shaded spectacles and was clad primarily in a dark suit. Finishing off his ensemble was a green cowl with a curious pin attached in front, shaped like some sort of cross. He had a calm but stern expression on his face. Giving him another look over, the man noted his visitor looked as if he'd been ripped straight out of some Japanese anime.

Not wanting to waste much time, the man turned to ask his visitor. "How long was I out?"

"About two days"

The man was taken aback. Given his encounter with the monsters in the forest, the sudden explosion and now waking up in some sort of med bay after a 48 hour nap, his initial presumption that this was all just a dream started going out the window. He found himself lost in thought of what all of these could mean.

"Are you feeling alright?" The spectacled man asked him.

"Y-yeah… j-just a little shaken." He answered back

The visitor's eyes softened.

"I wouldn't blame you. The Emerald Forest is certainly no place for a young boy." He replied.

This left the man with a puzzled look. "Young boy? What are you talking about? Besides can't you see my bear-" his sentence was cut short as he felt his face. Where there should have been stubble as he remembered, the man instead felt smooth skin. With a slight hint of panic he got up from his bed and looked for a mirror, finding one behind the door. Seeing the reflection on the glass, the man blinked twice to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Before him stood a young boy with brown spiky hair and sharp black eyes, a look akin to protagonists of the various shounen manga he'd been exposed to. Now that he thought about it, his voice did seem like it was on a higher pitch than usual.

"Okay, this is just getting crazier by the minute" the man-turned-boy exclaimed.

"It most certainly is." His guest replied, slightly nodding in agreement. "Could you kindly tell me your name?"

The boy hesitated for a brief moment, but decided it'd be easier to communicate if they could address each other properly.

"It's Gabriel, Gabe for short"

"Very well then Gabe. My name is Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." Ozpin answered.

"Beacon Academy? Where is that exactly, somewhere in Europe?" Gabe asked.

"Yur-rup?" Ozpin answered "Beacon is located in the Kingdom of Vale, one of the four great kingdoms of Remnant"

Gabe just gave Ozpin a bewildered look.

"Judging by how you've reacted so far, your line of questioning and that expression on your face, it's safe to say that you're not of Remnant, are you?" Ozpin inquired, stroking his chin quizzically.

"No. I may look like a kid now, but I'm actually a 25 year old salary man who lives in a small house on a planet called Earth." Gabe answered, a bit unnerved. He tried to remain calm as best he could, but all of this was proving a little too much to comprehend right now.

"I see." Ozpin replied. "Normally such statements would be cause of great concern for an individual's mental health. But given your rather unique circumstances I'm inclined to take your word."

"How could you trust me so easily?" Gabe asked.

Ozpin then took out a white device from his pocket. Looking at it closer, it reminded Gabe of the phones he had back home. A flick of Ozpin's finger on the transparent screen and a video started playing.

The footage was of a dense forest, similar to where Gabe was just a couple of days ago. A few seconds in and the screen was suddenly engulfed in a bright white light. When the glow dissipated, Gabe saw his sleeping form onscreen lying down on the grass, his phone and the large lighter firmly in his grasp.

"Well, I'm guessing you already know what happens next" Ozpin said, putting away the device. "We found you unconscious on a badly burnt patch of land. Your aura was on dangerously low levels. It was quite fortunate that we found you when we did."

"Aura? Sorry, you're going to have to explain this to me one at a time." Gabe said.

"I won't go in too deep for now, but think of aura as another source of energy from our bodies." Ozpin explained in brief. "It's directly linked to our soul. Expend too much of it, and it can have adverse effects on the user."

Gabe took a pause to think, trying to retrace everything that happened. "What about the explosion? That wasn't you?"

Ozpin shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Though judging by the damage to the area, it must have been a quite an impressive outburst."

The grey-haired man narrowed his eyes. "Tell me, would you happen to remember experiencing anything weird before it happened?"

Gabe closed his eyes and tried to recall. "I remember... something welling up inside me, like I was taking a really long inhale. Then suddenly, BOOM"

"Interesting." Ozpin noted. "Do you think you could recreate that feeling intentionally? Just try to imagine a similar sensation again" He asked.

"I'll try" Gabe said, not sure where Ozpin was going with this.

Closing his eyes once again, he tried to recall as Ozpin instructed. It took a bit of work, but he felt like he managed to reproduce an accurate imitation of how he felt at that time. Suddenly he heard a loud bang, similar to the one in the forest but far less intense, though the room did get noticeably warmer afterwards. Gabe jumped back in surprise

"So that's it." Ozpin said

"What is?" Gabe worriedly asked.

"HEADMASTER!"

The two were startled by the sudden new voice and looked to the door. A blonde woman was now standing at the entrance. By the way she was panting she must have heard the commotion and rushed to the room.

"Easy Glynda, it's nothing to be concerned about. I was just assisting young Gabriel here in figuring out his semblance" Ozpin explained.

"My what?" the boy asked

"If you'd excuse us, I'd like to continue our talk in private." The woman breathed a sigh of relief, nodded and stepped outside.

Ozpin turned to Gabe. "Your semblance. It's an ability innate to those who wield aura." he elaborated. "Semblances are unique from one individual to another. In your case, it seems your semblance allows you to create explosions. Strong, loud and hot ones at that"

"So you're saying… back in the forest... I did that?" Gabe said carefully, still doubtful of Ozpin's claim. "But the one at the forest was on another level compared to this one."

"Emotion and stress are said to have an effect on the strength of one's semblance. The fear and turmoil within your body probably amplified it at the time to a ludicrous degree." Ozpin explained. "However, it seems that blast also completely drained you of your aura, causing you to fall unconscious."

"Huh" was all that Gabe could say. Auras, Semblances, Remnant, all of it was starting to get jumbled up in his head.

Ozpin let out a small chuckle. "My apologies, I can see how all of this could overwhelm someone new to a foreign land, or in your case world."

"No kidding" Gabe sighed.

After organizing the information, he turned to Ozpin once again "The black wolf-looking things that attacked me in the forest, what were they?" Gabe inquired.

"The Grimm." Ozpin replied. "The ones you encountered are known as Beowolves. They're probably the most common form of Grimm."

"Most common, you mean there are more?"

Ozpin nodded. "Grimm come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Whatever the form though, Grimm share several common characteristics. Apart from their appearance like their pitch black bodies and the bone like protrusions, all Grimm tend to sense and are attracted to negative emotions, like anger, sadness or fear." He continued.

"The moment you started panicking upon seeing the first, it alerted the others in the vicinity. Grimm are ruthless and want nothing more than to eradicate any sign of life they may find."

Gabe took a pause to process the newly acquired knowledge. _'I guess that would explain why everyone and their mom was after me by the end of it.'_

"Now then" Ozpin said. "I believe it only fair if I ask about your world Gabe. Could you describe it for me?"

"There isn't really much to say." Gabe said. "There's certainly no Grimms if that's what you're wondering. But there's also none of this aura and semblance things either."

"Just your mention of the absence of Grimm already makes me want to pay it a visit." Ozpin said half-jokingly.

"It's a relatively peaceful place, no major, world-shattering conflicts or calamities, at least from where I grew up." Gabe continued. "Looking around here I can't tell if there's much of a difference. Though judging by that white thing you showed me, I'm assuming that the tech here is more advanced than what we have back home."

He then went ahead to the night table, got his phone and brought it to Ozpin. "I'm guessing this would be our equivalent of what you have over there. We call ours a phone"

Ozpin took the device and compared it with his. "Yes, I can certainly see the similarities with our scrolls." He stated. "However if you wouldn't mind, I'm much more interested in that" Ozpin said, pointing at the giant red lighter resting on the wall.

"Yeah about that." Gabe started.

"Before waking up in… uhh Remnant, I was actually about to go to bed back in my world. Right before I fell asleep, I got a message on my phone and was probably holding it when the drowsiness started taking over. The red lighter though…"

Gabe tried his best to think of a way to properly explain it.

"Can you play games on that scroll of yours or whatever?"

"You mean like video games?" Ozpin asked back.

"Yes I mean exactly like that." Gabe said, a bit relieved that Ozpin had some idea where he was going. "That thing over there was actually a weapon used by a character in a video game from my world."

Ozpin appeared doubtful, but Gabe continued. "The last thing I was doing before deciding to sleep was playing that game. I dunno why but this weapon followed me here when I woke up."

"What's it called?" The grey haired man asked.

"Ughh…" Gabe said, the embarrassment evident in his tone. "the _Junkyard Dog Mk III_."

 _'Calling it out loud like that was more cringey than I thought.'_

"So what does it do?"

"In the game, it was mainly used like a sword. It also helped the character amp up his fire-based magic and moves." Gabe described. "I'm not really too keen on the technical aspects though."

He walked to the weapon and picked it up with one hand. Ozpin looked sort of impressed.

"For someone stuck in a child's body that's some arm strength you have there."

"What do you mean?" Gabe asked

"We had a bit of a struggle getting that out of the forest." Ozpin explained. "In the end I had to rely on Glynda's telekinesis to lift it without pulling a shoulder. Though I guess at this point I shouldn't be surprised after seeing how fast you ran with it in the footage."

 _'Is this thing really that heavy?'_ Gabriel thought as he examined the handle.

 _'Judging from the times I've seen it deployed onscreen, I'm guessing there's some sort of button here that would open up the casing.'_

After a bit of fiddling, he found a trigger-like switch within the handle and pressed it firmly.

A brief moment passed and the lighter suddenly split open lengthwise like a dragon's maw, revealing a red blade encased within. Near the grip a cylinder-like mechanism popped up, similar to those found in a revolver. It housed 13 bullets, 7 on each side with one slot curiously empty.

"Well, it definitely looks like the real deal." Gabe noted, not noticing the smile that was slowly creeping on his face.

He couldn't lie to himself. There was a part of him that always dreamed something like this would happen. He was transported to a different world straight out of anime, possessed some sort of superpower and now he's holding what he always thought was one of the coolest fictional weapons designed. Had he been as young as he looked, he'd probably have been jumping around and geeking out.

However, he knew he had to set his priorities straight. This wasn't his home. As much as he would love to explore and get lost in it, there were still people that needed him back in his reality.

"I guess that's enough chit chat for now." Gabe said. Collecting himself and putting the weapon down, he turned back to Ozpin. "I'll go right into it. You wouldn't happen to know how I can get back home would you?"

An apologetic expression formed on Ozpin's face and he shook his head. "I'm sorry Gabriel. As much as I would like to offer my assistance I don't think there's much I can do. I have never seen a phenomenon similar to how you got transported here. Our probing of the area over the past two days have been rather fruitless as well."

Gabe looked down, clearly disappointed by the response. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now? It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

"Hmm.." Ozpin mulled for a bit while giving Gabe a quick look over.

"Judging by your appearance, I'm guessing you'd be around 12 to 13 years old biologically. At that age, children who aim to become huntsmen are usually sent to Primary Combat Academies to hone their skills."

"Huntsmen?"

"Specialized warriors who face off against the Grimm are known as huntsmen and huntresses." Ozpin explained. "Among humanity's forces, they are considered to be fighters without equal."

"Uhmm I don't know how much you've seen out of that video, but I literally have zero experience when it comes to actual combat." Gabe replied. "Like I said, I grew up in a peaceful place. I never really planned on learning how to fight"

"Grimm occupy a majority of Remnant." Ozpin said. "There may come a time when fighting them is the only option for you to survive. You may not be aiming to be a huntsman, but it would still be very beneficial to at least know how to defend yourself. If nothing else, then at least you'll be in the company of capable soldiers. Combat and Huntsmen Academies are probably the safest places in all of Remnant."

Gabe wasn't convinced. "Are you really sure about this? How about money? And where will I live?"

"Since you already have a weapon, aura unlocked and knowledge of your semblance, I'd say you have a pretty good head start" Ozpin said. "As for financing and accommodation, I can pull some strings and get you the proper arrangements. You have my word that you'll be taken care of."

Gabe paused to give the suggestion proper consideration.

 _'If what Ozpin said about their investigation is true then I can't see myself doing any better. Especially not in this body and with those Grimm out there'_

Accepting the situation he's in, Gabe finally responded. "Alright then Mr. Ozpin, I'll take you up on the offer. But I hope you won't just let it end there. I'd still prefer to be on my way home."

"We'll continue our investigation of the area where you first appeared." Ozpin said. "Once we've provided you with a scroll, feel free to contact me personally if you wish for any updates."

Ozpin smiled gently and reached out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

"Deal" Gabe said, sealing the agreement with a handshake.

"Now then, I'll need to make some calls." Ozpin said as he took out his scroll and started dialling a number. "To be perfectly honest I would prefer if you could stay here in Beacon. But there are too many things that need my attention right now for me to properly look after you."

"Hello Qrow? ... I'm going to need a favor…"


	4. Adapting

Before setting off, Ozpin had to iron out the details of Gabe's false identity. They agreed that it'd be best if his origins were kept secret from the wider public, so they came up with a simple story of how he was an orphaned baby fortunate enough to be taken in by a caring guardian.

From Beacon, Ozpin had Gabe sent to Signal Academy, a Primary Combat School located off the west coast of Vale. He wasn't sure what to expect of the man called Qrow whom he was supposed to meet up with on arrival. While being a habitual drinker and sometimes crass individual certainly wasn't on the top of his list, Qrow eventually proved to be a capable guardian, as well as instructor.

Just as he had agreed with Beacon's headmaster, Gabe was enrolled as a first year student. He had to admit there was a fuzzy feeling of nostalgia about going to school again. Not to be boastful, but he knew he was pretty good when it came to academics. Having to learn about a fascinating new world only motivated him to study more.

It wasn't called a combat school for nothing though, and this was where Gabe struggled the most.

Gabe had always opted to work things out rather than escalate conflict. Even while playing games he rarely did any trash talk no matter how bad he thought his teammates were. Being in a real fight and actually trying to inflict harm on another just didn't sit well with him. He was just too nice.

However, another thing that Gabe was known for back on Earth was persistence.

What he lacked in combat aptitude he made up for with sheer diligence. During recess and lunch breaks, he'd go to the school's training grounds to practice combat basics and hone the use of his aura and semblance. At night, he'd spend extra time before sleeping to study his weapon. Unlike the other students who personally handcrafted their own armaments, he did not know much about the intricacies of his sword. It may have looked like the Junkyard Dog, but he wasn't 100% sure if it was exactly the same as the one from his favorite game. It took a good deal of testing and experimentation on his part to figure out just what it was capable of. On more than one occasion he had woken up the entire dorm due to a misfire resulting in some thundering detonations.

While his work ethic was admirable, it didn't exactly score him popularity points with his schoolmates. He knew they were sometimes talking about him behind his back and had overheard them making fun of him more than once. Gabe was all too familiar with how cliquish and judgemental people are at their age and generally paid them no mind. The accidental explosions also kind of helped deter any would be bullies. At worst, he was just known as: "That one kid who blows everything up."

He had hoped to be stranded on Remnant for a month at most. Immediately the day after he first arrived at the school, he gave Ozpin a call, hoping that they found any clue or maybe even a way to get back to his reality. Unfortunately it was met with the same disappointing news. Still, Gabriel persisted. On his end, he paid close attention to news, surfing the Cross Continental Transmit system to look for any recent phenomena that appeared similar to how he first appeared.

Daily messages turned to weekly updates, and then monthly calls. Each fruitless conversation with the headmaster only served to chip away at Gabe's remaining hope. His regular browsing of the CCT wasn't yielding much either, which just added to the looming desperation.

It seemed Ozpin was aware of this, and he would sometimes veer their talks to inquiries about how he was doing; if he was making friends, how he was finding his studies, things that a caring parent would often ask their own children.

This didn't go unnoticed by Gabe, who was thankful for Ozpin's attempts at consoling. However , these efforts still weren't able to fully divert his mind from yearning to one day wake up in his room again.

Still given his circumstances, there wasn't much else he could do. Rather than continue stressing over things he couldn't control, Gabe focused his efforts on working towards what he thought was the next best thing.

* * *

The sound of steel clashing rang out in Signal Academy's training grounds. It was close to midnight, and the entire field was almost deserted save for the two men sparring on the main fight ring.

 _CLANG_

A powerful collision blew both fighters to opposite ends of the ring.

"Ok, I think that's enough." one of the combatants said. Both men eased from their stances.

The younger of the two individuals immediately sat down, breathing heavily from exhaustion. His sword dropped with a loud thud beside him.

"I gotta say, you've come a long way since you first got here." said the older gentleman. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a natural."

"The only reason I'm even half competent is because of how much you've kicked my ass Qrow." the younger man replied, a slight irritation in his voice. "If it were anyone else, they probably would've been onboard the first ship back to Vale."

"Well, it worked didn't it?" Qrow retorted with a mocking tone. "And besides, it's not like you got anywhere else to go right?"

"Zip it." the adolescent huffed.

Qrow let out a small chuckle and approached the boy. "But for real though. You've really improved Gabe. I'm proud." He said as he offered his hand to help him up.

"Coming from you, I'm not sure if I should be thankful." Gabe said. "I know you're still holding back."

"True, but not as much as I used to."

After getting up, Gabe dusted himself off and picked up his weapon, giving it a good look over to make sure everything's fine.

"So tomorrow's the big day huh?" Qrow said.

"Yep." Gabe replied nonchalantly, still focused on his sword.

"I'm still surprised you're actually gonna push through with becoming a huntsman." Qrow said. "I had to have Ozpin do a double take when he first told me about it."

"It's the best option I have." Gabe said, eyes still glued on the weapon. "Ozpin's investigations haven't gone well, and I'm not doing much better with my own digging around the CCT."

"If I get into Beacon, at least that'll put me right next door to where I first appeared, which means I might be actually able to do my own search. As much as I don't want to doubt Ozpin after everything he's done, it's still something I wanna see for myself."

"Four years is a pretty long time though. You really that optimistic you'll still find something?" Qrow asked.

"No. I may be hard headed, but I'm not deluded." Gabe replied. " But it's better than doing nothing. Plus, in case I don't find anything until I graduate, by then I'll be a full fledged huntsman. Then I can actually go wherever I want to search"

Qrow mentally reviewed his plan of action. "That's actually pretty well thought out."

"And besides. I still owe both you and Ozpin a ton for taking care of me." Gabe said, smiling at the man. "Think of my decision as a thanks to both of you."

"Ughh spare it with the cheesiness." Qrow groaned. "Sometimes I forget you aren't really a brat."

"You're not alone there." Gabe sighed. "Going through puberty again is just… _weird_ "

"C'mon, can't be all that bad." Qrow said. "At least you can hit on teenagers again."

"Just shut up."

The two shared one final laugh as they stepped off the field.

* * *

Gabe got up early the next morning to catch the first transport on the docks. Packing up what meager possessions he had, he was doing one final inspection to make sure that nothing was amiss.

"Looks like everything's here.. Oh wait! almost forgot."

Mentally kicking himself, Gabe went to his night table and opened the drawer. Inside was the last reminder he had of his own world; his old phone.

He had been unable to power it on since he got on Remnant. He brought it to scroll shops to try and get it fixed, but every single one had no idea what to do. He knew there was little hope of actually repairing it, but hey at least they couldn't say he didn't try.

Gabe looked at the phone, a morose expression forming on his face. Realizing he was starting to get depressed again, he closed his eyes and shook his head. ' _Now's not the time to get all down and gloomy!'_

He gazed back at the phone, this time with a look of determination.

"Here's to one step closer towards getting back home." he encouraged himself.

Pocketing the black device in his jacket, he got all his things and stepped out the door.


	5. First Impressions

The trip to the port was largely uneventful. After checking in his luggage and buying a quick breakfast to go, Gabe grabbed a seat right beside the door. As the ship took off, He looked around at the other passengers.

There was a mixture of emotions from the crowd, hovering between overly excited to being an inch short of a nervous breakdown. He couldn't blame them. He knew how widely revered huntsmen and huntresses were. Making it into Beacon is probably a dream come true for most of these people.

"Oh I can't believe my baby sister's going to Beacon with me! This is the best day EVER!"

Gabe looked to the source of the exclamation. He saw two girls, one with short black-red hair wearing a matching blouse and the other with long loose golden hair wearing a tanned jacket and black mini shorts. Currently the one in black was caught by the blonde in a rather tight bear hug.

Gabe recognized the golden-locked girl as one of his schoolmates back in Signal. They never really interacted but it's hard to forget someone that's that vibrant.

"Ughhh…"

The groan beside him caught his attention. Turning around, Gabe saw a blonde boy about the same age as him, wearing some rather odd looking armor over a black hoodie. He was clutching his stomach and looked kind of pale.

"Uhh… you okay?" Gabe asked.

"Yeah.. just... not a big fan of airship rides." The blonde boy replied. He suddenly heaved.

"Here." Gabe said, offering the paper bag his breakfast came in. "You might need this."

The boy nodded, swiftly taking it from his hands.

With a possible disaster averted , Gabe looked to the ship's main screen where a newsflash had just started.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities." The newscaster reported.

' _Guess no matter the world there's always gonna be some bad apples. Torchwick huh...'_

 _BLEAUGHH_

"Aaand there he goes." Gabe muttered to himself.

The boy beside him finally had enough and started hurling into the paper bag.

Suddenly the screen came off, and a hologram of a woman appeared before them. Gabe recognized the familiar face.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon! My name is Glynda Goodwitch." The hologram started. "You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy."

' _Nice to see she's doing well.'_

"Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it." Glynda continued. "You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Shortly after her speech, the hologram faded.

Gabe found himself pondering a bit on Glynda's words. It admittedly made him feel a bit guilty. While most of the people here probably have some noble, benevolent reason for wanting to become huntsmen, here he was doing it all just so he could get home. There were probably hundreds of people who dreamt of being in his position right now.

' _Well, just gotta do my best!'_ he mentally encouraged himself.

 _BLAAARGHH_

Gabe sighed. "Dude, really? You're still not done?"

* * *

It didn't take long before the ship finally docked at Beacon. The blonde boy immediately ran ahead of the crowd and straight to the trash can by the entrance. Gabe followed suit, to make sure he was okay.

"Feeling better?" Gabe asked, casually patting his back.

After one more heave, the blonde turned to him. "Yeah… thanks for the paper bag"

"No problem. You take care now" Gabe said as he took his leave.

"W-wait!"

"Hmm?" Gabe turned back.

"Maybe you could give a guy a chance to make up for a botched first impression?" The blonde said, getting up and offering his hand. "I'm Jaune Arc. Nice to meet you."

"Gabriel, Gabe for short" Gabe said in reply and shaking Jaune's hand firmly. "And really it wasn't that bad, apart from all the puking."

They shared a small laugh.

* * *

"So Gabe, you a first year at Beacon too?" Jaune asked as they walked towards the main academy.

"Yeah, to be honest I'm kinda nervous." Gabe said. "Still, at least it looks like I'm doing better than you."

"Ughh can we please just forget that ever happened." Jaune said with an exhausted groan. Gabe chuckled.

"Sooo, where you from?" Jaune asked.

"Uhhh well…"

 _BOOM_

Both Jaune and Gabe jumped back in surprise. A little way up on the main path, they noticed a cloud of dust had suddenly formed out of nowhere.

When it dissipated, they saw two girls in the midst of the commotion. Gabe recognized one as his blonde school mate's younger sister. It seemed like she was getting berated by another girl in white. Looking at empty luggage trolley and the bags scattered everywhere, the younger girl probably knocked it down over by accident.

Before things could escalate further, a raven-haired girl wearing a rather large bow approached the two. They couldn't exactly make out what was said, but it seemed like she managed to tick off the white-haired one. Shortly after, the two left, leaving the his school mate's younger sister alone.

"Now THAT's a botched first impression." Gabe told Jaune.

"C'mon." Jaune said, and Gabe followed suit.

* * *

Things weren't going quite well for young Ruby Rose. Barely 5 minutes had passed since she set foot on Beacon, and she already managed to step on someone's toes. The embarrassment of it all seemed to have taken its toll, and Ruby found herself lying on the ground, hoping to sink into it and just disappear.

"Welcome to Beacon." she muttered to herself with eyes closed.

Wallowing in her shame, she didn't notice the two individuals that approached the scene. Ruby then suddenly noticed her surroundings go dim. Opening her eyes, she saw a blonde boy looking over her, followed closely behind by another, brown haired one.

"Hey" The blonde said, offering his hand. "I'm Jaune."

Her expression suddenly perked up. "Ruby" she answered back, accepting the assistance. "Weren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Jaune groaned and the boy behind him laughed.

"Uh sorry, and you are?" Ruby said, turning to Jaune's companion.

"It's Gabe." he replied.

* * *

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on." Jaune whined.

"Yeah, still doesn't make it any less funny." Gabe quipped. Ruby giggled at the banter

From the courtyard, the trio had made their way around campus, familiarizing themselves with the area and each other.

" Look, I'm sorry vomit-boy was the first thing that came to mind." Ruby apologized, making Gabe snicker again.

"Oh yeah? What if I called you crater-face then?" Jaune retorted.

"HEY, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby snapped back, causing her companion to flinch. Surprisingly though, it was Gabe who reacted to her rebuttal.

"What's wrong with you?" Jaune asked.

"Uh.. it's nothing." Gabe said, laughing awkwardly.

' _Hopefully that phase of mine stayed at Signal for good'_ Gabe thought, recalling the times he woke up the majority of Signal's student population.

"Anyway, the name's Jaune Arc!" The blonde continued. "Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!."

"Do they?" Ruby asked.

"They will! Well.. I hope they will…" Jaune said, his voice trailing off. "I mean my mom always says that… Nevermind."

"C'mon don't get too down. It's just our first day!" Gabe said in the hopes of somewhat cheering up Jaune's mood.

"Thanks." The blonde replied.

An awkward silence started to settle in. Ruby, having had enough social disasters for one day, decided to try and break the ice the only way she knew how.

"Sooo.. I got this thing."

Ruby pulled out the red rifle strapped to her hip, transforming it into an impressive looking scythe.

"Whoa!" Jaune exclaimed. "Is that a scythe?"

"It's also a customizable, high impact velocity sniper rifle." said Ruby Proudly.

"A wha-?"

"It's also a gun."

"Oh" was all Jaune could say.

Gabe however, just looked at the weapon curiously, remembering a certain scythe-wielding drunk.

"Uhhh, Gabe? What's with the look?" Ruby asked. The boy's narrowed eyes didn't exactly make her feel comfortable.

"Ruby, you wouldn't happen to know some guy named Qrow, would you?" Gabe asked.

The girl's face suddenly brightened up. "You mean Uncle Qrow?" Ruby answered. "He was the one who taught me how to use this!"

Gabe could only sigh as the young girl went on for a good minute talking about her uncle.

Qrow had mentioned during one of their many sparring sessions that he was also looking after his two nieces in Signal. He also said that one of them also used a scythe similar to Harbinger. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. _'Some luck huh'_ Gabe thought.

"So how do you know my uncle!?" Ruby suddenly asked, cutting Gabe off his train of thought.

"Err... well," Gabe replied, slightly taken aback by her childlike enthusiasm, "he also kinda served as my personal instructor back in Signal."

"Ohhhh so you're the guy he told us about!" Ruby exclaimed. "Isn't he just the coolest!?"

"Ahehe yeah… he sure is." Gabe replied, sweat forming on his brow.

"Uh guys." Jaune interrupted, "Hate to break the cheery mood, but… where exactly are we going?

Gabe and Ruby looked at Jaune, then to each other.

"I dunno, I was just following you guys." Ruby said as she holstered her weapon away.

"Hmm I think we're supposed to go to the amphitheater for the opening ceremony." Gabe said.

He then took out his scroll and opened a bird's-eye view map of Beacon, taking note of where they were.

"Looks like we just passed it. C'mon." Gabe motioned to them and they began turning back.

"Soo... why'd you guys decide to help me out back in the courtyard?" Ruby asked.

"Eh why not?" Jaune said, "My mom always says, 'strangers are just friends you haven't met yet'"

"I mean, you gave vomit-boy here a second chance. You deserve one too." Gabe added. "Plus, I can sorta relate to your little incident earlier."

"Can we please just forget about that one already!" the blonde boy complained, causing the other two to share a laugh.

"Well, thanks." Ruby cheerily replied. Finding a new bounce to her step, Ruby and her two new friends made their way to the amphitheater.


	6. Troubled Night

_A/N: Sorry If I'm posting this a bit earlier than expected. Doing it now to be sure since I might not have access to net for a good week after tomorrow. Will be gone on a trip and expected to return next week. If I post a chapter over the weekend, it means I got back earlier than anticipated. I'd also like to give a quick thanks to the people who've been following the story so far. As always, feel free to R &R!_

* * *

The venue was already packed by the time they got there. The excited murmurs of students echoed through the large room.

"RUBY! Over here!"

The three turned to the voice, which turned out to be Ruby's sister. "I saved you a spot!" she yelled.

"Oh! Hey gotta go! I'll see you guys after the ceremony!" the young girl said before promptly joining up with the blondie.

"I guess it's just you and me now Gabe." Jaune said, turning to his companion.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Gabe replied. After a bit of squeezing and pushing through the crowd, they managed to find a good spot in the middle of the room with a clear view of the stage.

Since they entered, Gabe's eyes had been roaming around, looking for Ozpin. ' _This is the opening ceremony right? I expect him to at least welcome the new students._ '

Then right on queue, he saw Ozpin step up the stage accompanied by his aide, Glynda. He walked up to the microphone.

"A-hem"

The cough drew the students' eyes. Ozpin took a brief moment to examine their faces. Positive that he had their attention, he began his speech.

"I'll keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills. When you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." Ozpin started.

"But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It's up to you, to take that first step."

"That's a pretty heavy-handed way to start things off." Jaune whispered

"Yeah actually." Gabe agreed. "But I guess that's why he's the headmaster"

Ozpin had now stepped away from the mic, and now it was Glynda's turn to address the students.

"You will gather at the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow your initiation begins." Glynda announced.

"Be ready. You are dismissed."

* * *

Gabe stood by the door to the amphitheater, arms and legs crossed. He watched as the students flocked out the giant hall, most of them discussing and speculating about the initiation. He had told Jaune to go on ahead, telling him he needed a moment alone to prepare for tomorrow. Truth be told, he had hoped he could get a word in with Ozpin before the day ended.

"Well, if it isn't Gabe."

Hearing the familiar voice, he looked up and saw Ozpin with Glynda approaching.

"It's great to finally meet again face to face." Ozpin said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've certainly grown."

"Four years is a pretty long time." Gabe replied. "It's great to see you doing good too. Both of you." the young man said, turning to Glynda. The woman gave a slight nod in response.

"So, are you ready for the initiation?" Ozpin asked.

Gabe let out a sheepish laugh "To be honest, I'm still pretty nervous." he admitted.

"I've received regular reports from Qrow since you started at Signal." Ozpin said. "Based on his feedback of how far you've come, I'm sure that you'll do fine tomorrow."

"I'll try not to disappoint." Gabe said. "Anyway, you know catching up isn't the only reason I wanted to talk."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten." Ozpin said. "Just be sure to rest up. You'll be getting your chance to investigate the area sooner than you might think."

"I'll hold you to that then." Gabe replied. If Ozpin's knowing look and tone was anything to go by, he expected the chance had something to do with the initiation.

"I just hope that you don't get too disappointed if you come out empty handed." Ozpin said.

"Don't worry. I've talked with Qrow about it too." Gabe replied. "At this point, it's just something I have to see for myself. If nothing else, at least there'll be some form of closure."

"I'm really sorry I couldn't be of more help Gabriel." Ozpin said.

"Don't be. Accommodating me the way you and Qrow did for four years was more than enough." Gabe replied with a warm smile. "If anything, I have to make sure to do well tomorrow. It's the least I can do to repay you guys."

Ozpin smiled at the young man's answer.

"Anyway, I've taken enough of your time." Gabe said with a bow. "Thanks again. You two have a good night." he turned to head to the ballroom.

The two adults watched the boy leave.

"He certainly seems reliable, and determined." Glynda remarked.

"He certainly is."

* * *

Although he knew he should be resting, sleep did not come easy for Gabe. Only the light from Remnant's shattered moon illuminated his way as he wandered through the darkened hallways. The calm and quiet atmosphere helped him collect his thoughts.

This was it, the moment he had been anticipating for over four years. Tomorrow, he'd finally be able to investigate the origin point himself. Despite the slim chances, a part of him hoped against hope that he might find something that will lead him back home.

However, going back to the Emerald Forest also meant facing an old problem: the Grimm.

He was anxious, more so than he had let Ozpin on. Sparring with other people for practice and improvement was one thing, but fighting something that actually means to kill you is another. Despite Qrow and Ozpin's comments of how strong he had gotten, it still wasn't enough to ease his troubled mind.

Focused on his contemplation, he failed to notice that he wasn't alone in the dim corridor.

"You know, I don't think they allow smoking in here."

Interrupted from his thinking, Gabe looked to the direction to the voice.

It was Ruby's sister, his former schoolmate.

"Uh smoking?"

"That thing you have in your mouth, isn't that a cigarette?" She pointed out.

The girl's remark reminded Gabe that he had been charging one of his cartridges.

He discovered throughout his many late night sessions of studying the Junkyard Dog that the bullets could be charged with his aura, allowing them to be used to amplify his semblance at a moment's notice. One bullet can be used multiple times depending on his desired level of power output. If a bullet ever ran out of aura, he could simply charge it again.

As long as the bullet came in contact with any part of his body, he was able to transfer his aura into it. While it's true he could do this holding it in his hands and fingers, he found it much more convenient to stick a metal pin near the primer and just put it in his mouth. This freed both his hands to do other things if needed. The bullets gave of an orange-red glow while being charged, making it look like he was smoking a cigarette.

"Oh this?" Gabe said, taking the glowing object off his mouth. "Don't worry, it's not... I'm just… nevermind." His mind was too boggled right now to give a coherent response.

The girl moved closer, trying to get a good look at the boy's face.

"You're one of the guys that came with my sister to the opening ceremony right?" She asked.

"Yeah." Gabe said

She smiled "Thanks for that! I was pretty worried she wouldn't make new friends."

The blonde then offered her hand. "The name's Yang, nice to meet you!"

Gabe smiled back and accepted the gesture. "Gabe, likewise."

"So what are you doing out here alone?" Yang asked.

"Just trying to ease the jitters. I'm still not 100% confident about tomorrow." Gabe said. "What about you, shouldn't you be sleeping by now?"

"I just came from the little girl's room." Yang said. "Anyway, Ruby told me you were the guy our uncle was training back at Signal. You should do great then!"

"Is Qrow really that good?" Gabe asked. Indeed he got his ass kicked by the guy more times than he could count, but there weren't many other people he could compare him to.

"Well he did save us that one time when we were kids." Yang said "So yeah, he's pretty strong."

"I see. So that's why Ruby loves him so much." Gabe replied.

"Yep!" Yang affirmed, turning to look at Gabe again. Suddenly her eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute…"

"Hmmm…" she muttered, giving Gabe a good look over.

"Uhhh what is it?" Gabe asked, wondering why the sudden examination.

"Are you sure we haven't met before?" Yang asked. Gabe suddenly realized where her train of thought was going.

"I mean we both went to Signal right? So we probably ran into the hallways a couple of-"

"I'VE GOT IT. Aren't you 'Splosion Boy!?"

The brown-haired boy never finished his sentence and just sighed in defeat."...Yes"

' _Splosion Boy? Never heard that one before.'_

Yang burst out laughing. "Oh man! Who would've thought uncle was training the guy who blew up half the dorms!" she said in between snorts.

"HEY it wasn't half!" Gabe rebutted. "…more like a quarter. And that was way back in first year!"

Gabe remained silent as Yang continued her hysteric cackling. Even though he had come to terms with the labels and generally ignored them, having someone in front of you laughing their ass off at your expense didn't exactly give off the nicest feeling in the world.

"Are you done yet?" Gabe asked with a deadpan look on his face.

"Ahahaha... I'm sorry" Yang apologized, letting one last snicker slip out of her system.

"Ughh... and here I thought coming to Beacon might help me get a fresh start." Gabe groaned.

"If it makes you feel any better, I thought that was awesome!" Yang said. "Better than any prank I've come up with!"

"The people who had to sleep in the cafeteria for a month sure thought otherwise…" Gabe said. He remembered he had to take his meals in private for a good while to avoid all the judgmental glares.

"If you're packing that much power, I don't think you should be afraid of anything for tomorrow." Yang said, still trying to cheer the boy up. "If anything, they should watch out for you!"

"Thanks, I guess." Gabe replied, slightly smiling. He had to admit talking to Yang helped ease a bit of his tension. While reminiscing about the dorm blowing up wasn't entirely pleasant, it did take his mind off the Grimm. Her happy demeanor also helped him feel like tomorrow was just gonna be another normal day.

' _I guess it is technically just a big entrance test.'_ Gabe thought, trying to downplay tomorrow's trial by fire.

Yang then let out a big yawn and stretched her arms. The drowsiness was starting to kick in.

"Anyway, it's about time for me to get back to bed. Gotta get my beauty sleep for tomorrow." she turned to Gabe. "You not going to head back yet?"

"Go ahead, I think think I'll stay here for a bit longer." he replied. "Good night."

"'Kay. G'night." the girl said between yawns before promptly turning to take her leave.

As Yang walked back to the ballroom, Gabe glanced up at the broken moon.

If today was his last day in Remnant, he might as well try and appreciate the view.


	7. The Test Begins

" _Hraaaaaah_ "

Gabe let out a loud yawn as he walked to the lockers. He woke up a bit late having trouble getting to sleep the night before. If he had his way, he would've slept one more hour to get in top form. Nevertheless, today was the day he'd been looking forward to for so long. No way he was going to let a little sleep deprivation get in the way of a possible ticket back home.

As he neared the door, he let out a deep breath. ' _Ok, let's do this!'_ He opened it and went inside.

"My dearest sister Yang, are you implying that you do not wish to be on the same team as me!?"

Gabe saw he had walked right into the middle of a sibling argument between Ruby and Yang.

"W-what!? No! Of course I do, I just thought… I don't know, maybe it would help you break out of your shell."

"What the!? I don't need to break out of my shell! That's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Uhh is everything okay?" Gabe interjected, catching the two sisters' attention.

"Oh Gabe!" Ruby rushed up in front of the boy. "Could you please tell Yang that I've got no problem with making friends? I mean, we're friends right?! And we just met yesterday! That's gotta count for something? Right? Right?!"

"Woah slow down there!" Gabe tried to push Ruby back. "Keep this up and I think Yang may have a point"

"Thank you." the blonde said. She let out a sigh of relief, thankful for the save from a potentially messy situation.

"R-right, sorry." The younger girl said, looking a bit down at his response.

The depressing expression on Ruby's face made Gabe feel a bit guilty, and he hurried to think of a follow up "...though for the record, I'd like to think we are." he added with a smile. The young girl's face lit up at the remark and she gave a cheerful nod.

The boy turned to the lockers. "Now let's see… locker 610… ah! Here it is." He input the code he was given and the storage promptly opened, revealing the Junkyard. Gabe took the weapon and proceeded to do his usual inspection.

"Oh right, before I forget.."

Gabe reached into his jacket and took out the bullet he'd been charging the night before. Pressing on the trigger for a few moments, the encasement split open. He promptly put it in the vacant chamber. The cylinder spun around a few cycles before retracting back into the blade. The casing then shut close with a mechanical click, reminiscent to a gun loading.

"Lock and load." Gabe grinned. No matter how many times he did it he could never get tired of how the sword deployed itself. The way each mechanism of his weapon moved in perfect sync just left him with a sense of geeky satisfaction.

Confident that everything was in order, he turned around…

"Ooooooohhhh…."

He was greeted by a wide-eyed Ruby. She had been peering over his shoulder, using the locker benches for elevation. Their faces came uncomfortably close.

"GA HA!" Gabe yelped. The surprise from the sudden encounter caused him to lose footing and fall backward.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" the young girl shrieked in excitement. "That's a sword right!? Why does it look like a lighter!? What are the bullets for!? Does it have a name?!"

Gabe groaned in pain as Ruby continued the unending barrage of questions.

"Sorry about that, Ruby's a bit of a nut when it comes to weapons." Yang said, helping the boy get up.

"Point taken" Gabe replied.

She then approached her sister and flicked her on the forehead, snapping her out of her trance.

"What did Gabe just say earlier?" Yang scolded.

"Ughh… sorry."

Gabe sighed. He knew a couple of weird and quirky people back in his own world, but seeing Ruby obsess over his sword was something else. Still, he guessed it was better she was quite energetic and lively. Besides, he thought there were worse things she could be fixated on.

Then from out of nowhere, they heard a faint whoosh in the air, followed by a rather high pitched scream.

"AHHHHHH"

The trio turned to the commotion, and saw three people gathered around one of the benches. First thing they noticed was Jaune pinned by his hood to one of the lockers with what looked to be a red and gold javelin. Gabe turned to the other two individuals. One was the white-haired princess that was caught in the verbal scuffle with Ruby yesterday.

The other was an unfamiliar face, a girl with flowing red hair tied together in a rather long ponytail. Her outfit composed of brownish gold pieces of armor, a black miniskirt and a long red sash around her waist. Her look reminded Gabe of the archetypal amazons or valkyries found in his world's fictional works .

"I'm sorry!" The red-haired girl called out to Jaune. ' _That's some scary good aim'_ Gabe thought.

Glynda's voice suddenly rang out from the locker's PSA system.

"Would all first year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation. Again, all first year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

The two girls started moving out. The red-haired one stopped briefly by Jaune to retrieve her javelin. The blonde boy fell with a slight thud to the floor.

"It was nice meeting you!" the girl said before walking off.

"...Likewise" Jaune said. The dejected look on his face told the story.

Gabe, Ruby and Yang approached their friend.

"Having some trouble there ladykiller?" Yang quipped.

"I don't understand… My dad said all women look for is confidence." Jaune whimpered. "Where did I go wrong!?"

"For starters, maybe prep time right before the big initiation wasn't exactly the ideal moment to try hitting on girls." Gabe suggested.

"Anyway, you won't get any second chances if you don't pass." He offered his hand to Jaune. "C'mon, we gotta go."

The four exited the lockers, with Jaune assisted by Gabe, legs still wobbly from the ordeal.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly overhead as the freshmen lined up side by side, facing Beacon Cliff's edge. Ozpin and Glynda were already there to brief the initiates on their test. Gabe looked at the dense forestry before them.

' _Emerald Forest. Can't believe it's already been four years'._

If it weren't for the fact that he almost got torn to pieces during his last visit, Gabe thought he would've been a little more nostalgic. The view from the cliff wasn't half bad either. He would even go so far as to call it scenic, something he'd find printed on a postcard.

Seeing the all participants assembled in front, Ozpin began the briefing.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." the headmaster said.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." Glynda continued. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion."

"Each of you will be given teammates… Today."

Some murmurs started among the students. Gabe swore he heard Ruby squeak, sounding a bit worried.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin added.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next 4 years."

"WHAT!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way."

"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die." Ozpin stated in a rather ominous tone.

Gabe and Jaune swallowed lumps in their throats.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item as well as your standing and grade you appropriately." Ozpin explained. "Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, um, sir-" Jaune began.

"Good" Ozpin cut him off. "Now take your positions."

The students went into their stances and braced themselves. The square platforms they stood on suddenly started launching them one by one.

"Uh, sir? I've got, um, a question." Jaune called out. "So, this landing strategy thing, w-what is it? You're like dropping us off or something?"

"No. You will be falling." Ozpin answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I see. So, like, did you hand out parachutes?" Jaune continued, his anxiousness mounting.

"No, you will be using your own landing strategy."

"So what exactly is a landing strateGYYYYYY..."

Jaune's voice trailed off to the distance as he was catapulted to join his peers.

Ozpin then turned to Gabe, the last remaining student.

"Good Luck" he whispered.

Gabe just nodded before being promptly shot through the air.

Ozpin looked at the youngsters soaring over the horizon, taking casual sips from his morning coffee.

* * *

Gabe wasn't sure how far from the cliff he was launched. He couldn't see any of the other students beside him as he flew above the trees. In a few moments he began to descend.

"Alright here we go!" He shouted.

Gabe adjusted his position mid air so his legs were in front of him. Focusing on the soles of his feet, he let out a blast by the bottom of his shoes. Using the force to slow his forward momentum, he let out a second blast and launched himself vertically. At the height of his jump, he did a back flip to position himself upright. Now falling to the ground fast, he let out one final small blast to reduce his velocity. Within a few seconds he landed on the forest floor in perfect superhero fashion, the Junkyard held in hand firmly with a reverse grip.

"Ok that part's done."

He quickly got up and checked his surroundings. He was in an open area of the forest. Looking at where he landed, he saw he was standing on a rather large, bare patch of land. Trees and shrubbery surrounded the edge of the open field.

"Wait a minute…"

Gabe turned behind him, and he saw the face of a steep crag. He noted that the large rock formation was outlined with cracks. His gaze traced the crooked lines from top to bottom. By the base he saw a large crater on the wall, the center of which was where the cracks seemed to originate.

Gabe let out a knowing smirk. "Thanks Ozpin." He muttered.

There was no mistaking it. This was the place where they found him unconscious four years ago. The ground may not be burnt anymore but the large dent on the wall was hard to miss.

' _Leave it to him to set this up.'_

However, before he could begin looking around a sharp howl pierced through the air. Immediately, Gabe turned his attention back to the forest. He knew full well what was about to happen. His knees began to shake out of anxiety.

Realizing he was starting to lose control, Gabe breathed in heavily.

"Okay Gabe, this is what you've been training for." he said under his breath. "You can do this."

The self-assurance managed to calm his nerves a bit. After letting out a long exhale, he took to his stance. The growls were getting louder and louder.

Gabe held his weapon in front parallel to the ground, ready to guard against any incoming attack. Within a few moments, four beowolves burst out of the thickery, fangs and claws bared. They looked just as menacing as Gabe had remembered them. The creatures wasted no time and began encircling him.

Gabe pressed on the Junkyard's trigger and the "eye" of the sword began to glow a deep orange. He looked back at the Grimm, determined to take them down.

No holding back. It was do or die time.


	8. First Obstacles

_A/N: Sorry if this one took a while to come out. Things have been getting a bit hectic at work lately that I had no time to focus on writing. What's more, this chapter contains the first fight scene I'll ever write, so I made an extra effort to read and reread it thoroughly while looking for guides and samples online. Personally I'm still not sure how it came out, so reviews for this chapter in particular would be very helpful._

 _If nothing else major happens at work, expect the next one to be up by next week at the latest. As always thanks for reading this!_

 _Special shoutouts to Bomberguy789 for having reviewed every chapter up to this point. They've been heartening to read and helpful to hear!_

* * *

Ruby darted through the forest at breakneck speed. From the moment Ozpin mentioned how partners and teams were going to be formed, she made it her number one priority to rendezvous with Yang as soon as possible.

' _Gotta find Yang. Gotta find Yang. Gotta find…'_

"YAAAAANG" she called out. The lack of response only prompted her legs to go faster.

' _Ugh this is bad, this is really bad! What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first!?'_

Anticipating the worst possible scenario, Ruby began deliberating her choices from the few people she had gotten acquainted with over the past day.

First there was Jaune. While he was pleasant and had a sense of humor, she wasn't so sure she could rely on him during a fight.

Then there's Gabe. He wasn't as funny or extroverted as Jaune but he seemed a lot more dependable. He also trained under her uncle, so he can probably hold his own when push comes to shove.

There was also the mysterious girl who helped her yesterday, Blake. She was able to talk to the night before thanks to Yang. But given how reserved she was, she couldn't imagine holding a conversation with her.

' _Arghhhh. Okay… who else do I know in this school?' Ruby thought. 'There's Yang, Jaune, Gabe, Blake and …'_

Suddenly a figure walked right in the middle of her path, forcing Ruby to hit the breaks. As she came to a screeching halt, she looked and realized who the individual was. If her all white ensemble wasn't enough, then the scar on her left eye definitely gave it away.

' _Weiss…'_

Ruby didn't know how to react. On one hand, given how they got off on the wrong foot Weiss wasn't exactly her top choice to partner up with. On the other this was the perfect opportunity to try and start over.

Weiss said nothing as she looked at her. Ruby tried to form a smile, hoping things would go better this time. Unfortunately, no sooner had she managed to slightly grin than Weiss decided to turn around and leave.

"W-wait!" Ruby called out in desperation. The white haired girl paid no heed to her call as she walked through the shrubbery.

"We're supposed to be teammates..." Ruby muttered sadly, kicking the ground.

* * *

Things weren't exactly going well for Jaune. If launching through the air while screaming like a raving lunatic was bad enough, he now found himself in a predicament similar to the one in the locker rooms, only this time he was pinned to a rather tall tree.

The blonde boy struggled to get the javelin off. Unfortunately he wasn't having much success.

"Hrmpff! C'mon! Stupid..."

Amidst his grunting, he failed to notice someone approaching the tree.

Weiss had just ditched Ruby hoping the next person she crossed paths with would be someone more… appealing. As she worked her way out of the thicket, she heard noises from above and promptly looked up.

For his part, all of the scuffling with the lodged weapon started to exhaust Jaune. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he looked down and saw Weiss glancing up at him.

The two locked gazes for a moment. The blonde let out a nervous laugh. Part of him was starting to think it may be better to just get eaten by a Grimm rather than live through this humiliation a second time.

Weiss went back to the shrubbery. Resigning to her fate she retraced her steps back to Ruby. She saw that the girl had barely moved from where she left her. Weiss grabbed her by her hood.

"By no means does this make us friends" She told Ruby.

"You came back!" Ruby cried, raising her hands happily as Weiss dragged her off.

Jaune watched the two disappear into the forest.

"HEY WAIT! COME BACK! Who's gonna get me down from here?!" He called out. Just as he had began to lose hope, a voice called out to him.

"Jaune?"

He looked down to see that it was the red haired girl he met back in the lockers with Weiss.

"Do you... have any spots left on your team?" She asked him half-jokingly.

"Very funny." Jaune replied, unamused by the quip.

* * *

Gabe stood his ground. His gaze shifted from one beast to another to ensure he wouldn't miss any sudden movements. Then right on cue one of the wolves pounced, its arm raised and ready to slash.

Reacting quickly Gabe blocked the incoming swipe with his sword and flung the wolf against the wall behind him. Two more wolves began a mad dash towards him.

Gabe immediately recovered from the parry and countered the first wolf with a blow from the Junkyard. It hit the beast square on its face and sent it flying.

The second one followed the attack up with a forward lunge. Gabe responded with an uppercut from his free hand. The punch connected right on the creature's stomach. Utilizing the momentum from the attack, he hoisted the creature above him before slamming it hard on the dirt.

With three of the four incapacitated, Gabe raced towards the one remaining beast. Judging by its size and how it stood over the others, he deduced that this was the leader.

' _Just take care of this one and it'll be all over!'_

As he neared the alpha he leapt high into the air, sword at the ready. The large beowolf jumped away, barely dodging the incoming strike as it shattered the ground.

"Tch.." he muttered in annoyance.

Gabe looked to the beast. It suddenly let out a loud howl. As Gabe started to give chase once more, he heard growls and snarls coming from all directions.

Gabe stopped on his tracks. Soon after, dozens of beowolves started coming out from the forest. They were all converging towards the swordsman.

Despite being largely outnumbered, Gabe maintained his composure. He crossed his arms and quickly focused aura within him.

The grimm were closing in fast.

' _Alright here goes nothing!_ '

Gabe took a small hop.

"HRAAAAAH!"

He released the pent up energy mid-air, creating a powerful burst around him. The force was strong enough to blow back most of the attackers, some of which were already pouncing on him.

The few that managed to withstand the blow back wasted no time, rushing back on the attack. Gabe then jumped several feet to the air assisted by his semblance. Looking down at the pack, he then used another explosion to propel him back to the ground.

"TAKE THIS!"

Gabe slammed the Junkyard hard into the earth, triggering a violent explosion. The sudden eruption engulfed the area in a thick cloud of smoke and dust.

The attack managed to take out all the remaining grim except for the Alpha, which was observing from a safe distance. The creature cautiously approached the blast site. It was trying to sniff out its prey, but the smoke and dust in the air dulled its sense of smell. It snarled in frustration.

Suddenly an arm shot out from smog and grabbed the wolf by its neck. Gabe lifted the creature off the ground as it struggled in his tightening grip.

"Game over."

Without hesitation, he blew the Alpha's head clean off with one final blast. The decapitated carcass fell to the ground and began fading away.

The final threat now eliminated, Gabe made one final scan of the area. Confident that there were no more hostiles, he let out a deep exhale, dropped his sword and sat on the ground. He was breathing erratically. The adrenaline from the encounter still filled his system. He looked at his hands which were shaking uncontrollably.

He closed his eyes and took a moment to calm down. Managing to ease his breathing and control the shivering, he reopened them and looked back at his hands. He clenched them a couple of times.

The gravity of what he just pulled off started to register in his brain. A large smile slowly formed on his face.

"I did it…I DID IT!" Gabe shouted joyfully as he raised his fists in victory. A wave of relief spread through his being. Not only did he survive his first encounter, but he also managed to apply four years of hard work and training to full effect. The accomplishment left him with a very unique sense of satisfaction.

It didn't take long though before he came down from his first victory high. He knew that this was just the start. He still had a site to probe and a test to pass. Holstering the Junkyard, he began walking into the forest. Right before exiting the battleground, he noticed that there was an arrow carved into one of the trees. Etched below was his name. Gabe smiled. He didn't think that Ozpin would go this far to help him out

"Wow he really thought of everything huh?" he remarked.

His first real battle now behind him, Gabe followed the arrow and began his investigation.


	9. Frustrations

_**A/N** : Well it's been a while, about 3 weeks if I'm counting it correctly. I'd like to formally apologize to the followers for the lack of updates. Unexpectedly, I had to sort out a couple more crises, both at work and some personal matters. It left me little to no time for uploading, much less writing. This is the first break I've had since then and I'm trying to make the most of it. I'm not gonna make any promises any more as to when the next chapter's coming out. I will still try my best to pump out one chapter weekly, but if I don't update, then it'll be safe to assume that it has something to do with work again. _

_As always reviews and follows are very much appreciated!_

* * *

"Looks like someone's off to a booming start" Yang whistled.

She heard the explosions from a distance and figured it was probably Gabe getting into a fight. Yang had to admit she was a bit jealous. The girl had been wandering the forest for quite some time now and had seen neither hide nor hair of either a grimm or a person.

"Helloooo? I'm getting bored here." Yang called out as she traversed the woods.

Suddenly the shrubbery behind her rustled. Yang's face lit up.

"Is someone there?"

Walking to the bushes, she pushed them apart and looked to see what was hiding.

"Ruby is that you?" Yang asked, wondering if it was her raven haired sister. Suddenly a large black mass began to rise from the ground, towering above her.

"Nope." Yang said before dodging an incoming swipe.

As Yang jumped back, two large Ursa burst from the bushes. She wasted no time in arming her gauntlets and getting into stance.

One of the bear-like grimm charged. Yang answered with a straight right punch. The powerful blow launched the bear several feet back. Another tried to follow up the failed attack only to get an uppercut to the jaw before being kicked off to the side.

"You guys wouldn't happen to have seen a girl in a red hood would you?" Yang taunted.

Both behemoths responded with a growl before one lunged back to strike. she avoided the swings easily.

Yang let out a cocky laugh. "Geez you two couldn't hit the broadside of a ba-" her confident expression suddenly faded as she saw a strand of her hair fall slowly to the ground.

"You…" she said, her voice shaking in anger. Her lilac eyes turned to a deep shade of red.

The two creatures looked at each other confused as to what was happening.

"YOU MONSTER!" Yang shouted. A bright red flame burst around her, enshrouding her body.

The enraged brawler suddenly exploded towards one of the Ursa, launching the large beast to the air. Yang chased after it with a furious barrage of blows. With a final swing, she sent the Grimm flying through the woods, destroying several trees and leaving a trail of fire in the process.

The one remaining Ursa rushed towards Yang. "You want some too!?" The blonde said angrily. The beast roared back. Before the creature managed to attack, a strange whir echoed through the air followed by the sound of a blade being stabbed. Suddenly the Ursa in front of Yang collapsed in a heap. A strange weapon was lodged in its back.

Looking behind the now dead grimm, Yang saw a lone person standing. She recognized the head of black hair adorned with a rather large bow; Blake.

The mysterious girl retrieved her weapon from the Ursa's fading corpse. Holstering it to her back, she gave Yang a smug look.

"I could have taken him." Yang said matter-of-factly.

* * *

Gabe had managed to follow the arrows that Ozpin set up along the forest. The trail led him to a rather cliche' X on the ground, similar to those in old cartoons that marked the spot of buried treasure.

He wasted no time and began investigating the area after arriving; two straight hours of turning rocks over, looking through bushes, checking the ground, searching for something, anything that was remotely strange or even possibly related to his old world.

Tired and annoyed by the lack of progress, Gabe laid flat on the ground. He absentmindedly stared into the foliage above. The sunlight shone through the leaves, reminiscent of when he first opened his eyes in Remnant.

"Ughh.. this sucks." he sighed.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself for disappointment, it still stung quite a bit. Coming here and ending up with nothing just made the past four years of preparation and anticipation seem like a huge waste of time.

Letting out a deep breath, he collected himself. "Guess there's no point staying here any longer. For now at least" He muttered, getting up and dusting himself off.

Setting aside the failed investigation in the meantime, he tried to figure out where to go next. He could keep following the path deeper into the forest. However, Gabe also noted that he had yet to encounter any other student since he landed. If he remembered correctly, Ozpin told them that the first person they made eye contact with upon landing would be their partner for the rest of their stay at Beacon.

Weighing both options in his head, Gabe decided it'd be best to meet up with others before pushing on. Only question now is, how was he going to look for other people?

As he tried to formulate some sort of plan, he heard a loud crash in the distance. Gabe looked towards the direction of the noise. Shortly after he saw black smoke rising above the trees.

"There's my next stop."

* * *

"WHAT WAS THAT?! That should have been easy!" Ruby snapped.

"Well perhaps if you had exercised even the slightest amount of caution with the placement your strikes, I wouldn't have set the forest on fire!" Weiss retorted.

The two girls had just narrowly escaped a pack of Beowolves. Though they did manage to lose the grimm, their teamwork during the brief confrontation wasn't exactly stellar.

Ruby had gotten in the way of Weiss' opening attack, forcing her to redirect it to a nearby tree. One thing led to another, and before they knew it the surrounding area had been set ablaze. The duo used the ensuing chaos to make a break for it.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ruby demanded

"I'm just surprised that someone who talked so much would communicate so little during an encounter."

"Well I'm sorry that you need my help to win a fight! I'm just fine on my own!"

"Well, congratulations on being the strongest child to sneak your way into Beacon, bravo." Weiss said sarcastically, before turning to continue into the forest.

Ruby let out a pent up shriek before taking her vexation out on a nearby tree, slicing it clean with her Crescent Rose. Getting some anger out of her system, she proceeded to follow Weiss into the thicket. The tree fell behind them, along with a large black feather that floated gently to the ground.

* * *

Gabe surveyed the scene before him. He was able to work his way to the site where the smoke seemed to originate. The fires were still relatively strong when he arrived, though thankfully it seemed to have stopped spreading. In the middle of the field were the burnt remains of a rather large tree, a few embers still burning on its scorched branches.

His eyes were searching through the fading smoke for other people. He scanned the area intently.

"Looks like I just missed them." Gabe muttered, a bit disheartened at his stroke of bad luck. He thought for sure that he was finally gonna meet up with at least one person, maybe even two.

Just as he was about to move on, he heard a faint noise through the crackle of the flames. Taking a moment to concentrate, the noise came again, and he managed to make out some words.

"Hellooooooo, anyone here?!"

Gabe recognized the voice.

"Yang? That you?" He called back.

"Gabe?" it answered. "Where are you?"

The young man turned around and followed the sound. Walking a few steps past the fallen tree, he saw Yang near the edge of the field. She was accompanied by another girl. Gabe identified her as the one that helped Ruby yesterday.

"I see someone's been busy." Yang said with a knowing grin, thinking the boy was the one who caused the damage.

"Can it, it wasn't me this time." Gabe replied as he walked towards the two.

He then turned to Yang's companion. "Sorry, I don't think we've been introduced."

"It's Blake" the girl replied

"Gabe, nice to meet you"

The girl just nodded quietly.

"It's just you here?" Yang asked him.

"Yeah. I haven't seen anyone else since we got launched of the cliff." Gabe explained.

"Guess that makes us partners then!" Yang said cheerily.

"Uhh, but didn't you guys meet up first? I thought this'll be done by pairs?" he pointed out.

"The details will probably get ironed out later." Blake interjected. "For now sticking together is probably the best option."

"No arguments here." Gabe said.

"Just make sure you don't blow us sky high" Yang teased.

"Ha ha ha, very funny" he shot back. Blake let out a small chuckle at the banter.

Seeing familiar faces at last gave a much needed boost to Gabe's low morale. "Well let's go find that relic." he urged, focus now directed towards the final objective.

The trio followed the path back into the forest.

* * *

Back on Beacon Cliff, Ozpin and Glynda had been observing the students as they made their way to the objective. Cameras set up along different parts of the forest provided live footage.

"It looks like our otherworldly friend was unsuccessful in his search." Glynda said.

"Unfortunately. Though I doubt this will be the end of it." Ozpin remarked having come to know how persistent the young man could be.

"At least he's met up with a reliable pair." Glynda pointed out. "Belladona and Xiao Long have been performing well so far."

"He's also performed quite remarkably on his own." Ozpin said. They saw how the young swordsman managed to take care of a pack of Beowolves. Needless to say it exceeded their expectations.

"That's more than I can say for Ms. Nikos though." Glynda had began looking through the other students. "I don't care what his transcripts say, that Jaune fellow is not ready for this level of combat."

"I guess we'll find out soon enough." the blonde subordinate said, closing her scroll. "At their current pace they should be arriving at the temple in a few minutes."

"Speaking of which, what did you use for relics this year?" Glynda asked the headmaster. "Professor Ozpin?"

The man said nothing, too focused on his scroll to answer his subordinate. He was watching footage of Ruby and Weiss. The two were caught up in a rather heated argument.

* * *

"Stop treating me like a kid!" Ruby yelled.

"Stop acting like a kid!" Weiss answered back.

"Well stop acting like you're perfect!"

"I'm not perfect!"

Weiss then looked her in the eye. "Not yet. But I'm still leagues better than you." With that last snide remark, the older girl turned and proceeded to go on her way, leaving Ruby once again frustrated and depressed.

"You don't even know me..."

* * *

Ozpin let out a sigh. He could only hope that the two would eventually work things out, for everyone's sake.


	10. A Group United

"You think this is it?"

Jaune and Pyrrha found themselves standing before the opening of a deep looking cavern. By the entrance they saw a cave painting depicting a large group of humans in combat with what seemed to be a gigantic scorpion.

"I'm not so sure" Pyrrha replied.

"Well, only one way to find out."

Jaune picked up a stray piece of wood. Giving it a good look over, he took out some materials from his pouch and went to work. A few minutes later he was holding a small torch. Taking a match from one of his pouches, he lit up the stave and turned to Pyrrha.

"Let's go" He urged his companion

"Well aren't you the boyscout." Pyrrha commented, rather impressed with the boy's handiwork

"Yeah well, haven't been much use in the fights. I have to make it up somehow." he chuckled.

They entered the cave, hoping that their intuitions would pay off.

* * *

"Just where are we now exactly?" Ruby complained.

"We're on the right track, so just shut up and follow me." Weiss replied.

The bickering duo had been walking through the woods aimlessly for quite some time now. Though she wouldn't admit it, Ruby could tell that Weiss wasn't all too sure where they were currently heading.

"Why can't you just admit that you don't know where we're going?"

"And what could you possibly suggest that could help us out?" Weiss asked back.

"Well we coul-"

Ruby's words were cut short when a loud cry pierced the air. The two slowly turned their gazes to the sky, wondering what could have made such a loud noise. Both their eyes widened.

"What is that?" Weiss asked, her voice a bit shaken.

A cocky grin formed on Ruby's face.

"Our ticket to the relic."

* * *

Gabe, Blake and Yang worked their way out of the forest and into a wide field. In the middle of the clearing was an ancient looking stone building, kind of like a temple. It was perfectly circular in structure, with moss and mildew covering its crumbling walls. From their position, they could make out what appeared to be pedestals lining the ruin's edge.

"You guys think this is it?" Yang asked.

"After all that walking, it better be." Gabe said, stretching his arms a bit.

The three went down to take a closer look.

"Chess pieces?" Blake questioned, looking at the gold and black pieces placed on each pedestal.

"Some of them are missing." Yang commented, noting that there were a couple of empty ones.

"Then that means we probably weren't the first ones here." Gabe noted. "This has to be it."

"I guess we should pick one then." Blake said.

"How about a cute little pony?" Yang said, picking up one of the white knight pieces.

"Hmm, I'll be taking another one just to be safe." Gabe said, taking a black rook.

"What for?" Yang asked.

"We were supposed to do this by pairs right? The rules didn't say anything about a trio. Better safe than sorry." Gabe explained, pocketing the relic in his jacket.

"Suit yourself" Blake shrugged.

Finishing up, the three convened in the middle of the temple. "That wasn't too hard!" Yang remarked.

"Well, it's not like this place was difficult to find." Blake added.

"I just hope the others are doing good too." Gabe said, thinking about Ruby and Jaune. The two girls nodded in agreement.

* * *

"I'm not sure this is it."

Jaune sighed at Pyrrha's comment. Admittedly they had been trekking through the cave for quite some time now without any luck.

"Pyrrha, I made the torch. Could you at least humor me for maybe, 5 more fe- UWOAH!" The blonde boy suddenly tripped over, dropping the torch into a small puddle and extinguishing their only source of light.

"Ow.." Jaune groaned as he struggled to get up.

Pyrrha however noticed something odd. "Do you feel that?" She asked Jaune.

"Soul crushing regret?" Jaune replied, forlorn about the results of their little expedition.

"No… it's warm" Pyrrha said.

The boy wondered just what the redhead was referring to. Suddenly, a strange yellow glow appeared further off along their path.

"Hey, I'm not the only one seeing that right?" Jaune asked.

"Don't worry, I see it too." Pyrrha confirmed.

Their curiosity piqued, the two walked toward the light. As the two neared the source, they noticed the glow coming from a strange looking object. It looked kind of like a giant tear drop made out of gold.

"That's the relic!" Jaune exclaimed before reaching his hand out. The object reacted and jerked backward, avoiding Jaune's grasp.

"Hey!" The boy blurted out. "Bad relic!"

He tried to go for it again, and was met with the same result. Annoyance getting the better of him, Jaune jumped on and took hold of the object with both hands.

"GOTCHA"

As he held on to his prize, an eerie red glow began illuminating in front of them.

Pyrrha's soon realized what they had gotten themselves into. A look of fear crossed her face.

"Jaune?" She called out worriedly.

Jaune wondered what got Pyrrha so wound up, until he came face to face with the owner of the object he was fixated on. Large, glowing red eyes glared at him.

* * *

Back at the temple, Gabe, Blake and Yang were just about ready to head back to the cliff when suddenly a shrill scream rang through the forest.

"Sounds like a girl's in trouble!" Yang said, looking to where it came from.

"You think we should help?" Gabe asked.

"Uhhh guys…" Blake said, pointing to the sky above them.

The two followed her finger and looked to the sky above them. They noticed something, or rather someone falling from the sky.

"HEADS UUUUP!"

Yang recognized the red cape. "Ruby?"

The girl was plummeting fast right on top of them. However, before they could attempt to catch her, Ruby was knocked out the sky by another speeding object, sending her crashing into a nearby tree.

"Ughhh what was that… …?" Shaking off the daze from the impact, Ruby found herself resting atop a tree's branch.

"Ahem" the girl looked up, and saw Jaune hanging upside down above her.

"Heya Ruby" the boy greeted.

Gabe, Blake and Yang were surprised to say the least.

"Did your sister just fall from the sky?" Blake asked.

"I uh -"

A loud crash interrupted Yang's response. They noticed the trees in the woods in front of them were falling one by one.

"Oh what now?" Gabe groaned, still mentally recovering from the baffling turn of events.

Out of the forest burst an Ursa. The grimm was growling profusely and appeared to be struggling, like something had latched onto it's back. It flailed it's arms wildly.

"Yeehaw!"

A pink spark lit up behind the bear and it suddenly dropped dead. From atop its back a girl jumped down. She had short orange hair and wore a rather casual looking ensemble, a black vest over a white top, a pink skirt and matching boots By the looks of things, it appeared that she was treating the Ursa like it was some sort of rodeo ride.

"Aww it's broken." the girl whined, approaching the downed creature for a closer look.

From behind the dead Ursa appeared another person, this time a boy clad in a green oriental shirt over white pants. He looked exhausted judging by the way he was trying to catch his breath, probably from keeping up with the girl.

"Nora? Please… don't ever do that again." He wheezed.

His plea fell on deaf ears. The girl had already rushed towards one of the pedestals. She looked at one of the relics curiously. Picking up a white rook, she did a little celebratory dance.

" _I'm Queen of the Castle_ , _I'm Queen of the Castle_ "

The three just looked at her, not sure how to react.

Unfortunately, it the boy had just about enough of her bubbly antics. "NORAA!" he scolded. The outburst managed to catch the girl's attention.

"Hehehe, coming Ren!" The girl gave a playful salute before taking the rook in her hand and skipping back to her companion.

"Did she just come here on an Ursa?" Blake asked. Gabe just shrugged and shook his head.

No sooner had the new pair arrived that another commotion erupted in the forest. Pyrrha came running out of the woods and behind her was the gigantic grimm that they encountered in the cave. It took the form of a scorpion, complete with large claws and an enormous golden stinger.

"Jaune!" the girl called out.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune struggled to get out down, desperate to assist his partner.

"Whoa." was all Ruby could mutter upon seeing the giant grimm. She hurried down the tree, not realizing she left Jaune stuck upside down.

"Ruby wait!" Jaune implored, but his pleas were futile. Ruby had jumped off and raced towards the middle of the clearing, eyes focused on the large scorpion.

"Ruby!"she immediately knew whose voice it was.

"Yang!" Ruby exclaimed happily, finally reunited with her sister.

"NORA!" screamed the bubbly girl, getting in between the two sisters.

The giant scorpion continued to chase Pyrrha.

"Did she just run all the way here with a deathstalker on her tail?" Blake inquired.

"Are you seriously gonna ask every time?" Gabe replied, not really sure how to answer the question anymore.

Yang had just about enough of all the absurdity happening around them. She let out a frustrated growl as flames burst around her. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Will everyone just chill out for like two seconds before something CRAZY happens again?"

Ren staggered through the field and joined up with the group as they took a moment to recover.

"Umm... Yang?" Ruby tapped her sister's shoulder and pointed up. Everyone looked to the sky for what felt like the umpteenth time today.

Encircling the airspace above them was a massive black bird, a Nevermore. By its large talon Weiss clung on for dear life.

"RUBY! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME UP HERE!" She shouted angrily.

"I said jump didn't I?" Ruby shouted back.

"She's gonna fall." Blake added.

"She'll be fine." Ruby assured them.

"She's falling." Ren finally confirmed.

Jaune had just managed to get himself out of his tree hanging predicament. As he breathed out a sigh of relief, he noticed someone falling from the sky. Realizing who it was, a large grin got plastered on his face. ' _Finally this is my chance!_ '

Moving quickly he leapt from the branch, managing to catch Weiss bridal style mid-air.

"Just dropping in?" he said, trying to be as smooth as his awkward self would let him.

His moment of glory however came to a crashing halt when he realized that he too was now about to fall. "Oh God NOOOOOOO-"

Jaune fell face first to the dusty hard ground, before Weiss landed right on top of him, with a painful thud.

"My hero." Weiss said unamused.

"...my back…" Jaune creaked.

While this was all happening, the Deathstalker never let up the chase on Pyrrha. The grimm managed to finally catch up to her. The girl blocked the incoming attack and was knocked away. Pyrrha landed in a heap right in front of the group.

"Great the gang's all here! Now we can die together!" Yang proclaimed.

"Not if I can help it!" Ruby said, before letting out a battlecry and charging head first toward the Deathstalker.

"Ruby wait!" Yang cried.

Brandishing her scythe, Ruby launched herself towards the scorpion. The grimm just swatted her off like a fly. Ruby grunted in pain as she fell to the ground.

"Do-Don't worry! Totally fine!" she shakily called back.

Turning to the Deathstalker once again, she fired back with one final shot before retreating back towards their group. The large grimm was hot in pursuit, gaining up to her.

"RUBY!" Yang began running towards her sibling.

Things suddenly turned for the worse as the giant Nevermore began to descend towards the fleeing girl.

"Not good!" Gabe said before dashing towards the sisters.

Suddenly the flying creature flapped its wings forward and let loose a volley of feathers. They impaled the ground like arrows, cutting off Yang from her sister. One of the feathers pinned Ruby down by her cloak.

"RUBY GET OUT OF THERE!" The older sister cried helplessly.

"YANG WATCH OUT!"

"Huh?"

Too focused on her sister, Yang failed to notice one feather was hurtling straight towards her. By the time she realized what was going on, it was too late.

Yang squeezed her eyes shut and prepared for the inevitable, but it never came. Opening them once again, she saw Gabe standing in front of her, blocking the incoming projectile with his sword.

"You alright?" The young man asked, worried that she had gotten wounded.

"Y-yeah thanks"

Ruby however was still struggling to get her cape loose. The Deathstalker was now upon her, approaching its helpless prey. It raised its tail, preparing to land the killing blow. Realizing her efforts were futile, Ruby looked up, her expression twisted in dread. The golden stinger started to come down

"RUBY" Yang called out.

"Shit!" Gabe murmured. ' _I'm not gonna make it in time!_ '

Just then a white blur sped past the two.

Ruby was already covering herself with her arms, hopelessly trying to defend against the large stinger. Suddenly she heard the distinct crackle of Ice forming. The air around her became noticeably colder.

"You are so childish"

Opening her eyes slowly, she saw the stinger inches away from her face, stopped frozen by a wall of ice.

"W-Weiss?"

"And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style." Weiss continued.

"And I can be a bit… difficult, but if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together." She tried her best to give Ruby a smile.

"So if you quit trying to show off, I'll be… nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off. I just want you to know I can do this." Ruby answered.

"You're fine" Weiss said, before walking off. Ruby let out a sigh in relief. It felt like a big thorn had been pulled off her chest.

With the Deathstalker restrained, Gabe approached Ruby and removed the feather impaling her robe.

"Thanks Gabe" Ruby said, and Gabe suddenly flicked her forehead.

"Oww, what was that for?!"

"For charging in like an idiot and almost getting your sister killed!" Gabe scolded. "Look, we're in a real life or death situation here. Reckless decisions like that are the last thing we need if we want to make it out of here in one piece!"

"Sorry…" Ruby said, her voice shaking slightly.

Gabe sighed. "Just don't do that again. If not for me, then at least for your sister." He pleaded, his voice a bit softer this time around.

Yang rushed to them and caught Ruby in a tight hug. "Oh I'm so happy you're okay" she said in relief. Ruby peeked over her shoulder and saw Gabe giving her a reassuring smile. The three then made their way back to the group.

"Guys, that thing's circling back" Jaune said, pointing to the Nevermore. "What do we do?"

"Nothing" Gabe said bluntly.

"Huh?"

"There's no sense in dilly-dallying, our objective's right in front of us." Weiss added, referring to the objects on the pedestals.

"Gabe and Weiss are right." Ruby said. "Our mission is to grab an artifact and make it back to the cliffs. There's no point in fighting these things."

"Run and live. That's an idea I can get behind." Jaune agreed.

"Didn't seem that way when you jumped off that tree earlier…" Gabe said, garnering a small chuckle from the group.

Turning back to the pedestals, both Ruby and Jaune each took a chess piece.

Right on cue, the ice encasing the Deathstalker's stinger began to crack.

"Time we left!" Ren shouted

"Right. Let's go" Ruby said and led the group as they ran from the field.

Yang looked at her sister as she led the group a knowing smile on her face.

"What's up?" Blake asked.

Yang gave her a smirk. "Nothing."

"Oh and by the way…" Yang grabbed a passing Gabe by his collar.

"Ack! Yang? What is it?" Gabe asked, surprised by the sudden tug.

"If you hit my sister again, I'm going to punch you so hard you'll end up back in Signal." The blonde threatened, pupils turning red. Gabe realized she was probably referring to the flick to Ruby's forehead earlier when he reprimanded her.

Gabe swallowed a lump in his throat. "D-Duly noted. Won't happen again" he replied

"And one more thing…"

She let go of his collar. Gabe was nervous, not sure what was gonna come next. In an unexpected turn, Yang gave him a tight embrace. This definitely caught the boy off guard to say the least. He felt his face warming up.

"Uh.. Yang?"

"That was for saving me earlier. Thanks!" She said sweetly, before running off to catch up with the others.

Blake gave him a small grin and playfully punched his shoulder before heading off.

"You're... welcome" He said, mind still in a daze trying to comprehend what just happened . The sound of ice cracking brought him back to his senses, reminding him of the large killing machine behind them.

"Hey guys wait up!" he called out, running after them.


	11. Teamwork

The group of nine ran a beeline towards Beacon Cliff. Just before the finish line, they found themselves among another set of ruins. Ancient buildings lined both sides of the path they were following. Further down the road was a tall stone spire, built right in the middle of a vast gorge. A single footbridge connected the tower to their current location.

As the group made their way towards the goal, the Nevermore decided to perch on top of the spire, obstructing their path to the cliff. It let out a horrifying wail. The party split in two, hiding behind the structures in case the giant grimm decided to fire another volley of feathers.

"Well that's great!" Yang said sarcastically.

Suddenly the Deathstalker burst out from the woods behind them, still hot on their trail.

"Ah shit." Gabe said.

"Oh man run!" Jaune shouted. The group ran toward the spire.

"Nora Distract it!" Ren ordered, pointing toward the Nevermore. The grimm fired it's feathers towards the girl. Nora narrowly dodged several of them before taking aim with her grenade launcher. She opened fire towards the grimm, with one round hitting it right in the face. The attack managed to drive the bird off its roost, leaving an open path for the group.

The Deathstalker managed to reach them and charged at Nora from behind. Blake and Ren leapt in to repel the beast. Weiss used the opening to grab Nora and get her to safety.

The group had now began crossing the bridge. Pyrrha looked behind her, and saw the four running from the scorpion.

"Go! Go!" She instructed, transforming her weapon into a rifle and firing a couple of shots to slow the Deathstalker's advance. Ren joined her with his twin machine pistols, raining suppressive fire on the beast until Blake made it safely on the bridge. The Deathstalker did not follow them further, wary that the fragile walkway may not be enough to support its wait.

Just as when they thought they were finally in the clear, the Nevermore came circling back toward them. It was descending at a rather high speed. Ruby realized what it intended to do.

"JUMP!" she shouted. Using its massive size, the Nevermore smashed into the walkway, destroying part of the bridge and splitting the party in two.

Jaune had managed to make it to the other side. He looked at his companions. "Is everyone here?"

Joining him were Ruby, Weiss, Nora and Yang. Looking back to the other side, Pyrrha, Ren and Blake were fending off the deathstalker, which left one person missing.

"Where's Gabe?" Jaune asked worriedly.

"HEEEEERE!"

The group looked above them, and saw Gabe clinging onto the Nevermore. He had failed to jump on cue, but managed to grab hold of the creature as it flew towards them.

"Don't mind me for now, help the others!" He shouted to Jaune.

Turning to back to the other side, he saw the other three struggling against the Deathstalker.

"Let's do this!" Nora said.

"Yeah, but, uh… I can't make that jump" Jaune said.

Nora gave him a mischievous grin. Knocking Jaune backward with her grenade launcher, the gun transformed into a large mallet in her hand. She then jumped off the bridge, turned around mid-air and brought the hammer down the walkway with all her strength. The blow was powerful enough to catapult Jaune to the other side. She followed suit, using her weapon to propel her over the gorge. Upon landing, she swung her hammer down on the grimm.

"AH, SMASH!"

She hit the scorpion right on top of its head. The force of the blow managed to stun the Deathstalker for a brief moment. Enraged, the creature countered with its stinger. Nora successfully blocked the attack but was knocked a few feet back, accidentally bumping Blake off the bridge.

* * *

Thinking quickly, Blake threw her weapon towards what remained of the walkway. The blade managed to embed itself in one of the stone pillars. She took advantage and used it to swing across the ravine. Spotting the nevermore above her, she released the blade off the stone pillar at the top of her swing. Blake then utilized a clone to propel herself toward the large bird. Reaching its head, she managed to land several blows. She flipped towards the back and spotted Gabe clutched tightly on its feathers

"Need a hand?" Blake asked.

"Just a second." Gabe took the Junkyard off its holster. Sighting the group facing off with the Deathstalker, he threw the sword towards their location. The red sword lodged itself firmly on the ground near the gorge's edge.

"Ok let's go!"

Blake then threw her weapon again and latched it by a pillar near the the central structure. She took hold of Gabe's hand the two jumped off the Nevermore, swinging towards the central spire. Gabe let go early and landed with a somersault within the building itself, while Blake joined Ruby, Weiss and Yang atop the spire.

"I'll go help the others! Keep that bird off our backs!" Gabe he yelled before rushing towards the edge of the broken bridge. He jumped off the structure and made use of his semblance to launch himself towards Jaune and the others.

"Its tougher than it looks!" Blake informed them.

"Then let's hit it with everything we got!" Yang said, prepping her gauntlets.

The four girls took aim with their weapons and began peppering the sky with anti air fire. The Nevermore responded in kind and crashed right into the tower, destroying the fragile edifice. The girls made their way through the falling debris up to safety.

"None of this is working!" Weiss complained.

Ruby looked to her companions. Blake had just gotten back up using her ribboned weapon while Yang was already retaliating with shots from her gauntlets. Taking mental note of the position of the remaining stone pillars, she quickly formulated a plan.

"I've got an idea, cover me!" Ruby ordered.

* * *

Things were getting rocky for Jaune, Nora, Pyrrah and Ren. They had been pushed back near the edge of the broken bridge. The Deathstalker smashed its tail on the walkway. The fragile structure that they were standing on started to give way.

"We gotta move!" Jaune yelled. The group wasted no time running towards the the other side. The Deathstalker raised its claws and stinger in anticipation. Suddenly a couple of explosions went off on its left side, knocking it off balance. The looked off to the side, wondering where the attack came from.

"Looks like I just made it in time." Gabe said. He knelt down on one knee while holding the Junkyard down like a rifle, sights locked onto the large scorpion.

The group on the bridge used the opening to mount a counter-offensive. The Deathstalker recovered from Gabe's opening volley and lunged its right claw forward. Pyrrha blocked the attack and slashed back. It struck back with its left claw reactively. Jaune blocked the incoming strike and Pyrrha landed a blow once again. Ren followed it up and peltered the creature's face with bullets. The creature brought down its stinger to attack. Ren dodged it and took hold of the golden appendage as the scorpion brought it back. Clinging onto its tail, he fired relentlessly at the stinger point-blank.

At this point the Deathstalker was thrashing about wildly, overwhelmed by the group's successive attacks. Seeing an opening, Nora fired a couple of rounds off of her weapon aimed straight at the monster's head. The huge creature managed to block the attack with its claws, blocking the grenades and knocking back Pyrrha and Jaune.

Pyrrha immediately recovered and transformed her sword to a Javelin. Taking aim, she threw it right at the creature as it lifted its guard. The spear found its mark, and got lodged into one of the creature's eyes. The Deathstalker screamed in agony and began to flail around wildly. The jerking around was too much for Ren, who lost his grip on the tail and got sent flying.

"Ren!" Nora cried out.

Luckily for Ren, Gabe was there for the assist.

"Gotcha!" Gabe said, catching Ren before he slammed to the wall.

"Thanks." He replied.

Ren's efforts weren't in vain, and Jaune noticed that the stinger was now dangling precariously off the creature's tail.

"Pyrrha!" he called out, pointing at the stinger.

The girl realized his plan. "Done!" she acknowledged, throwing her shield like a boomerang. It managed to slice the stinger off. It landed right on top of the scorpions head, piercing through its thick armor. The creature wailed in agony.

"Nora, nail it!" Jaune ordered.

"Heads up!" Nora jumped up and landed atop Pyrrha's shield. Using it as a launching pad, she rocketed through the air with the help of her hammer, before coming down and smashing the stinger through the Deathstalker's head, killing it off once and for all. The impact destroyed what remained of the bridge and the grimm's carcass fell off into the abyss.

Ren and Gabe ran to the others.

"I'm going back to Ruby and the others, you guys okay here by yourselves?" Gabe inquired.

"We're fine, good luck!" Jaune said. Gabe gave a final nod before blasting off with his semblance.

* * *

Yang positioned herself atop the remains of the spire, firing shot after shot at the Nevermore. One round connected to the bird's face. The grimm screeched angrily. It adjusted its trajectory and flew straight into the blonde fighter, beak open in an attempt to eat her. Yang fearlessly jumped to face it head on, ending up right in front of the Nevermore's mouth. Holding the beak open with one arm she fired a relentlessly into the beasts mouth.

"I. HOPE. YOU'RE. HUNGRY!" She shouted in between shots.

Yang then looked behind her to see where she was headed. The giant bird was about to crash into the cliffside wall. Having dealt pretty substantial damage, Yang took it as a cue to jump off. The Nevermore slammed hard into the stone and fell right at the base of the cliff. Recovering from the collision, it let out a violent cry.

"HEADS DOWN!"

Yang looked up and saw Gabe soaring through the air, poised to strike with his sword. The attack found its mark, and the swordsman landed an explosive blow to the creature's head. It knocked the bird silent.

"Still not enough." Gabe growled, looking at the Nevermore as it started to regain its footing.

"Gabe!" The young man turned his attention to the voice behind him. He saw Ruby, Weiss and Blake positioned in a peculiar manner. "Get up the cliff!" Ruby shouted

"Got it!" Gabe said, deciding it best to play along. He jumped and launched himself up the cliff. Yang ran back to the group, while Weiss sped to the Nevermore. Reaching the creature, the white fencer encased its feathered tail in a block of ice, preventing it from taking to the skies. Her objective done, Weiss jumped back and returned to the others. During the commotion, Yang and Blake had taken opposite ends of the latter's weapon and latched each end on mirrored pillars. Ruby jumped up into the ribbon, pulling it back and positioning herself like a nocked arrow with Crescent Rose. Weiss awaited at the far end and used a black glyph to hold her in place, ready to be catapulted towards the trapped Nevermore.

"Of course you would come up with this idea." Weiss said to her.

"Think you can make the shot?" Ruby asked.

"Can I…" Weiss said cheekily.

Ruby scrunched her eyebrows.

"Can you-"

"Of course I can!" Weiss shot back.

Without further delay, Weiss released the glyph, launching Ruby through the air like a missile. The ballistic scythe-wielder fired a couple of shots to increase her momentum. She crashed into the Nevermore, catching its neck with her scythe. Weiss wasted no time and set up a line of glyphs straight up the cliffside.

"Gabe, ready?!" She called to the boy on top.

"Whenever you are!" he answered, finally getting what Ruby had in mind. He took a few steps back from the cliff's edge.

Ruby proceeded to run up the wall using Weiss' glyphs, dragging the large bird with her while firing several rounds to increase speed. Gabe then performed running jump high into the sky. Looking down, he saw that Ruby was almost to the top. Using one final explosion, he launched himself directly down, left foot first. As Ruby reached the summit, Gabe landed full force on the back of the Nevermore's head kicking it through Ruby's scythe, beheading it clean. He landed in a cloud of dust at the base of the cliff. The headless body fell down the gorge unceremoniously.

"Wow" Jaune exclaimed, in awe of the spectacle he had witnessed.

Ruby stood atop the cliff triumphant as Blake, Weiss and Yang looked up at her.

"Well, that was a thing" Yang said.

"Wait where's Gabe?" Blake asked.

Their sights turned to the base of the cliff. The dust began to settle, and they saw the boy in question limping towards them.

"Gabe!" Yang cried out, and the group rushed to him.

His face scrunched in pain.

"Are you alright?!" Ruby said worriedly, coming down to check on her friend.

"Looks like I still need to practice landing that" Gabe chuckled, slightly wincing in pain. "I think I twisted my ankle."

The group let out a collective sigh in relief, thankful it wasn't anything too serious.

"C'mon I'll give you a hand" Ren offered. "I still owe you for the save back there."

"Thanks, appreciate it." Gabe said, as Ren holstered his arm over his shoulder.

"WE DID IT!" Nora finally cheered, raising her hands in victory. The group shared a collective hurrah. Laughs and pats on the back were shared as they relished in the high of their first successful mission.

* * *

"Russel Thrush, Cardin Winchester, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark." Ozpin announced. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team Cardinal [CRDL]. You will be led by... Cardin Winchester."

The four boys on the stage bowed in respect before stepping off.

"Jaune Arc, Lie Ren, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie." The group walked up to the stage as they were called. "The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team Juniper [JNPR]. Led by, Jaune Arc."

"HUH?!" The boy blurted in surprise. He had fully expected Pyrrha to be the one chosen to assume leadership. "L-Led by?"

Pyrrha playfully punched him in shoulder in congratulations. However, it was enough to knock Jaune over, earning a laugh from the onlooking audience. The newly formed team then made their leave.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long." The four girls made their way to the podium. "The four of you retrieved both White Knight pieces. From this day forwardy, the four of you will be working as Team Ruby[RWBY]. You will be Led by… Ruby Rose."

Weiss looked at her a bit shocked, surprised by the decision.

"I'm so proud of you!" Yang exclaimed, hugging her sister.

Gabe looked at his new friends, happy that everyone managed to pass the test.

"Gabriel?" The boy looked, wondering who mentioned his name. His eyes locked with Ozpin's blonde subordinate, Glynda.

"The headmaster has requested to meet you in his office." the older woman said.

"Uhh sure…" Gabe answered, wondering what this was about.

"This concludes this year's induction ceremonies. To all the new teams, we look forward to teaching and working with you in the coming year!" Ozpin declared, followed by a round of applause.

* * *

Gabe sat in front of Ozpin's desk, waiting patiently for the headmaster to return from the amphitheater. He was looking through his scroll surfing the C.C.T. Though his investigation during the exams was a failure, he couldn't help himself and once again began looking through the news for any mysterious occurrences over the past few days.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Gabe turned around and saw Ozpin come through the door.

"How's your ankle?" Ozpin asked.

"Eh could've been worse." Gabe said coolly, trying to downplay the discomfort he currently felt.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering why I had you sent here."

Gabe nodded as Ozpin motioned to sit in his desk.

"First off, don't worry, you passed the test. With flying colors as a matter of fact." Ozpin said smiling at him.

Gabe let out a deep exhale. "Okay, that's one thing off my chest" Gabe sighed, deflating into a slouch in his seat.

"Secondly, it has to do with your team assignment."

Ozpin's words caught his attention. Gabe suddenly sat upright, intent on hearing what he had to say.

"As you are aware, the initiation was supposed to be accomplished in pairs, but as we both know things didn't go exactly that way for you." Ozpin began.

"You got that right." Gabe replied.

"Truth be told, I had hoped you'd manage to find a way home." Ozpin said with a morose expression. "Unfortunately that wasn't the case."

"Well like I said last night, I already prepped myself if I came out empty handed" Gabe said. "I guess at least now I get to spend some more time with my new friends."

Ozpin smiled. "I take it you got along well with both Team RWBY and Team JNPR?"

"I'd like to think we did." Gabe answered, recalling how their final encounter in truins went. A small smile traced his lips.

"That's delightful to hear." While Ozpin knew that Gabe was beyond being an adolescent, it still did him good to know that he was finally able to make some friends. He had heard from Qrow that Gabe often distanced himself from his peers at Signal, usually keeping to himself in his dorm room.

"Headmaster." The two men looked to the door. Glynda appeared behind it. "They're here."

"Good, send them in."

Glynda nodded and opened the door. Jaune, Ruby, Blake and Yang stepped in.

"Gabe! There you are!" Jaune said. "We were wondering where you went."

"Yeah well Ms. Goodwitch told me the headmaster requested that I see him here." he replied.

"How's your foot?" Ruby asked. She felt a bit guilty since it was thanks to her plan that Gabe got injured.

"Still hurts a bit, but nothing to lose sleep over. It'll get better." Gabe reassured her.

"By the way, we never saw you go up on stage during the ceremony!" Yang remarked. "Didn't he pass?" she inquired turning to Ozpin and Glynda, clearly worried.

"Everyone here will vouch for him." Blake added.

"Don't worry." Ozpin said. "In fact that's the very reason why I called you all here." The five teens looked at him confused.

"Now then." Ozpin stood up and turned to Gabe.

"Gabriel Steppe, you retrieved the the black rook and managed to pass the trials posed by the Emerald Forest, working in conjunction with the companions you made along the way." he began.

"Due to your performance and the results of the test, we have decided to induct you into both Team JNPR and Team RWBY."

"What?!" Gabe said, his eyebrows raised in confusion. Everyone else more or less reacted in the same manner.

"How this works is, there will be times when you will be assigned to either teams to work on tasks or accomplish missions. Seeing how well you managed to work with both of them during the initiation, I take it there won't be much problem with this arrangement?" Ozpin asked.

Gabe took a moment to process everything that Ozpin just said. After taking it all in, he looked back at the older man.

"No sir." Gabe assured, smiling back. His friends nodded in agreement.

"In addition to the two teams, Miss Belladona and Miss Xiao Long." Ozpin looked to the two girls. Both returned his gaze curiously.

"You two were the first to encounter Gabe during the exam. Seeing how well the two of you performed along with Gabe's own results, we have decided that the three of you will be grouped together into a seperate, smaller team, Team Gabby [GBY]."

Ozpin turned to Gabe. "You will be in charge and act as the leader whenever the three of you are called upon. Do you accept?"

Gabe gave the man a determined look.

"Yes." he said without hesitation.

"Very well." Ozpin sat back down on his desk. "Congratulations on passing the initiation Gabriel. We look forward to working with you."

Gabe bowed to Ozpin in response.

"Well look at you! Congrats!" Yang said happily, giving him a pat on the back. "Looking forward to working with ya boss!"

"Same here." Blake said.

"Thanks. I'll try not to disappoint." Gabe replied.

He then turned to Jaune and Ruby.

"Looks like I'll be under you guys too."

Jaune laughed nervously. "If anything, I feel like we should be the one following you."

"Yeah, I kinda agree." Ruby commented.

"As long as you don't have me breaking my ankle again, I'm sure you guys will do great." Gabe joked, garnering chuckles all around.

Ozpin smiled as the group continued to chatter and laugh among themselves. This was definitely going to be an interesting year.


	12. Badges, Burdens and Babysitters

**_A/N: Hey everyone it's been a while! I know this chapter's coming in really late, but I was preoccupied with several events this August:_**

 ** _1\. First off, there was Evolution 2018 back in August 3 - 5. Me and a bunch of my friends arranged a small viewing party at my house._**

 ** _2\. Afterwards I had to make preparations at work before our coverage of The International 2018 started._**

 ** _3\. This past weekend, we had a pretty big fighting game major in the country that I entered and covered for work as well._**

 ** _To be honest I had this chapter written for over two weeks now, but between covering different events and training to make sure I didn't suck too much at the tournament last weekend (I ended up getting 9th at BBTAG with Ruby and Hyde!) I had barely enough time to make proper edits. All that aside, it's out now and I'd like to apologize again for the wait._**

 ** _As always reviews are appreciated!_**

* * *

The sun shone bright above Beacon Academy, signalling the first day of regular Classes. The dorms were abuzz with the sound of students getting ready for the day ahead.

"Not too bad if I do say so myself."

Gabe was checking himself out in the mirror, making sure to look his best. He had to admit, Beacon's uniforms looked pretty good.

Traditionally, hunting teams were housed together with all four members sharing co-ed rooms. However, since Gabe technically belonged to two teams, he was instead given a separate room right beside Team RWBY and Team JNPR. Gabe felt it was a bit too much though. The four-bed dwelling place was a tad too big to house one lone tenant.

"Well, off to class." Gabe said, grabbing his bag before leaving the room and locking the door.

He stopped by Team RWBY's room.

"Huh, wonder if they're already…" He suddenly heard a loud whistle from within the room.

"Guess that answers that."

* * *

"Gooooood morning team RWBY!" Their leader shouted.

"What in the world is wrong with you?!" Weiss snapped back.

The latter was in the middle of waking herself up when Ruby blew a whistle right beside her. Before she knew what was happening, Weiss fell on the floor and was left staring at Ruby indignantly.

"Now that you're awake, we can officially begin our first order of business."

"Excuse me?" Weiss asked

"Decorating!" Yang suddenly chimed in, carrying a cartoonishly large amount of knickknacks and decors.

"What?" Weiss exclaimed, growing more confused by the minute.

"We still have to unpack." Blake added while holding up a suitcase, which suddenly sprang open, pouring all its contents onto the floor. "... and clean."

Weiss gave both of them an annoyed look before another whistle from Ruby made her lose balance.

"Alright! Weiss, Blake, Yang, and their fearless leader Ruby have begun their first mission! BANZAI!" She declared.

"BANZAI!" Blake and Yang echoed.

Weiss just laid on the floor, sighing and shaking her head.

However, before they could begin, there was a knock on the door.

"Huh, wonder who that could be." Ruby asked.

Blake stepped over and opened the door, revealing Gabe.

"Morning" He greeted them.

"Good morning Gabe!" Ruby greeted cheerfully. "We were just about to start sprucing the place up!"

"Really? Won't you guys be late for class?" Gabe asked. "First one starts at 9 AM. It's already 8:00."

The four girls turned to the clock and saw that the boy was right.

"Awwwwwww but I already had everything planned out!" Ruby whined.

"Sorry Ruby, looks like it'll have to wait til later." Blake apologized.

"Finally, someone's making sense around here." Weiss commented, going into the bathroom to get ready.

Ruby just pouted and sighed sadly.

Gabe approached the girl and looked at her smiling. "Tell you what, I'll help you guys with fixing your room if we get to class on time. Deal?"

Her face lit up at Gabe's proposition. "Okay deal!"

* * *

"Monsters, Demons, Prowlers of the night. Yes, the creatures of grimm have many names. But I, merely refer to them as prey, Ha-ha!" Professor Peter Port began, trying to get a reaction from the class.

' _Man is this guy for real?'_ Gabe thought. He was trying his best to keep awake. He didn't think that a class dedicated to studying about otherworldly monsters could be boring, but Professor Port was proving him wrong.

In the set of tables below him, Ruby had already fallen asleep while Yang and Blake just looked at the teacher blankly. Weiss seemed to have a keener interest in what the old man was going on about and was preoccupied with taking down notes.

Seeing his attempt at humor fail miserably, Professor Port decided to move on. "Uhh, and you shall too, upon graduating from this prestigious academy."

"Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms, are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world." Port continued. "Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing more than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in."

"Huntsmen! Huntresses!" Port said the latter while giving Yang a rather peculiar look. The girl just laughed it off, clearly uncomfortable with the gesture. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

"That is what you are training to become. But first a story! A tale of a young, handsome man, me!"

At this point, Gabe had already given up on listening to Port, deciding to open up a text book and do some advanced reading.

As Port continued in his self-absorbed monologue, Ruby began scribbling something on a blank piece of paper. She then put it up and showed it to her team, revealing a crudely drawn caricature of Professor Port. Yang looked at the paper and let out a small giggle, while Weiss seemed rather annoyed.

"Ehem" Port cleared his throat, catching the attention of the girls.

Port went on for about another 10 minutes. During that time, Ruby continued with her antics, from making faces, balancing objects, picking her nose, anything to distract them from Port's story.

However, Weiss wasn't all too fond of Ruby's hijinks. As the class dragged on, she grew more and more annoyed at her seatmate and so called "leader". By the end of Port's talk, Weiss wore an angry scowl on her face, trying desperately to control her temper and pent up frustration.

"... And I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high. Celebrated, as a hero."

"The moral of this story? A true huntsman must be honorable. A true huntsman must be dependable. A true huntsman must be strategic, well educated and wise!." Port concluded.

As Port finished his speech, images of Ruby's tomfoolery popped into Weiss' mind, each one pushing her one step closer to a violent outburst.

"So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Weiss' arm shot up.

"I do sir!" she proclaimed, teeth gritting.

"Well then, let's find out!" Port replied. "Step forward, and face your opponent!"

"Hm?" Gabe took a moment off his textbook to see what the commotion was about.

As Weiss stepped out to get ready, Gabe went down and took the empty seat between Ruby and Yang.

"Uhh, what's going on?"

"Weiss volunteered to take on whatever's in that cage." Ruby told him.

"Hehe, this should be interesting!" Yang said.

After a few moments, Weiss came back donning her signature white dress and wielding her rapier Myrtenaster. She stood before the cage and got in stance.

"Gooo Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" Blake said, waving around a little flag with their team's name

"Yeah, represent teeeam RWBY!" Ruby urged.

"Ruby I'm trying to focus!" Weiss snapped at her.

"Ohhh.. sorry"

"Alright, let the match, begin!" Port raised his axe and destroyed the lock on the cage, and out came charging the grimm. It was a quadruped, taking the form of a wild boar.

"A Boarbatusk?" Gabe said, and the three girls looked at him. "Uhh sorry, was doing some advanced reading earlier."

" _...nerd_ " Yang teased under her breath. Gabe heard it and gave her a deadpan look.

The grimm charged directly at Weiss. The girl dodged the boar and took a swipe with her rapier. The attack bounced off the creature's armor.

"Haha, wasn't expecting that were you?" Port commented.

"Hang in there Weiss!" Ruby cheered.

The Boarbatusk turned and made another charge towards her. This time Weiss opted to meet the attack head on and dashed towards it. The two collided, and Weiss' weapon got entangled with the beasts tusks. She struggled to get it loose.

"Come on Weiss show it who's boss!" Ruby shouted.

Weiss turned to Ruby with an irritated look. With her attention drawn elsewhere, the Boarbatusk took the opportunity and swung its head violently, sending her rapier flying across the room. Now disarmed, the beast knocked her back with a strong shove.

"Oho, now what will you do without your weapon?" Port egged on.

As Weiss struggled to get up, she saw the grimm make a charge for her again.

"This isn't looking too good." Gabe remarked.

Weiss managed to dodge it once again and the Boarbatusk rammed into a wall. Weiss made a rush for her weapon. She quickly got up and turned back to the grimm.

Ruby tried to give her some advice. "Weiss go for its belly! There's no armor undernea-"

"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!" Weiss yelled. Ruby sank dejectedly in her chair.

The grimm growled once more. It jumped into the air and began rolling in place, spinning faster and faster.

"Is that a spindash?" Gabe commented.

"A what?" Blake asked

The Boarbatusk suddenly burst forward, launching itself directly at the white-haired fencer. This time however, Weiss was ready. She conjured up two glyphs, one above and the other in front. The glyph up front managed to deflect the Boarbatusk and knock it on its back exposing its underside. The creature's weak point in full view, Weiss jumped up on the glyph above and launched herself straight at the beast. Her rapier pierced right through the grimm, killing it instantly.

"Bravo! Braa-vo!" Port exclaimed with a triumphant swing of his arm. " It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training!"

Weiss took a moment to catch her breath before standing up. She then gave Ruby a piercing glare. The young leader of team RWBY could only look down at the floor, not sure how to react.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings and, stay vigilant. Class dismissed!" Port concluded.

Weiss gave them one final vexed look before walking out the room. "Sheesh what's with her?" They heard Jaune say from the back of the room. Blake, Yang and Ruby looked at each other, clearly concerned over the recent display of their teammate.

Gabe felt that he had a pretty good hunch of what was going on.

* * *

"WEISS!"

The Schnee heiress turned her back to see Ruby, who managed to tail her out the classroom.

"What?" Weiss replied, still clearly angry.

"What's with you? Why are you being-"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" Weiss interrupted. You're supposed to be a leader and all you've been so far is a nuisance!"

Ruby just scoffed, confused by her sentiments. "What did I do?!"

"That's just it, you've done nothing to earn your position!" Weiss elaborated. "Back in the forest you acted like a child and you've only continued to do so!"

"Weiss, where is this coming from?" Ruby asked, a bit more calmly this time. "What happened to all the talk about, working together? I thought you believed in acting as a team."

"Not a team led by you." Weiss said bluntly. "I've studied, and trained, and quite frankly, I deserve better."

She turned around, having made her case. "Ozpin made a mistake."

That last statement struck a chord within Ruby, making her even more depressed. She found herself powerless to stop Weiss as she walked away. At a complete loss, Ruby turned around, only to be surprised with Ozpin standing then and there. It seems that the headmaster had been listening in on their little commotion.

"Hmm. Now that didn't seem to go very well." He remarked.

* * *

Still trying to calm down, Weiss walked out to the balcony, hoping some fresh air would help her out. To her surprise, Professor Port was also there, looking over the students below.

"Professor Port!" She called out.

"Ah Ms. Schnee, and to what do I owe this fine pleasure?" The mustached man bowed to her.

"I-I enjoyed your lecture!" Weiss said.

"Of course you did child! You have the blood of a true huntress in you!" Port acknowledged.

"You really think so?" Weiss asked him eagerly.

"Most surely!" Port confirmed, noticing that Weiss seemed to be thinking of something else.

"Hmm, something's troubling you."

"Yes sir" Weiss admitted.

"Well dear girl, confess to me your strife!" Port urged.

"W-well, I think I should've been the leader of team RWBY."

* * *

"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby asked, not even trying to hide how concerned she was over her teammate's words.

"That remains to be seen." Ozpin smiled at her.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked warily.

"I mean, it's only been one day" Ozpin went on. "Ruby, I've made more mistakes than any man, woman and child on this planet. But at this moment, I would not consider your appointment to leader to be one of them."

Ozpin leveled his eyes with hers. "Do you?"

Ruby just remained silent, trying to come up with a response.

* * *

"That's prepostrous." Port exclaimed.

"Excuse me?!" Weiss interjected, taken aback by her professors reply.

"I've believed in Professor Ozpin for many years, and the man's never once led me astray." Port affirmed.

"So you would just blindly accept his decision even after seeing how exceptional I am?" Weiss asked, not convinced of the older man's statement.

"With all due respect, your exceptional skill on the battlefield is matched only by your poor attitude." Port responded.

"How dare you!" Weiss replied.

"My point exactly." Port continued. "I see a girl before me who has spent her entire life getting exactly what she wanted."

"That's not even remotely true!" Weiss denied. "...well, not entirely true."

* * *

"Being a team leader isn't just a title you carry into battle, but a badge you wear constantly." Ozpin continued. "If you are not always performing at your absolute best, then what reason do you give others to follow you?"

Ozpin turned around. "You've been burdened with a daunting responsibility Ruby. I advise you take some time, to think about how you will uphold it." With that last piece of advice, the headmaster left her to ponder on his words

* * *

"So the outcome did not fall in your favor." Port began. "Do you believe that acting in such a manner would cause those in power to reconsider their decision?"

Weiss just remained silent, letting Port's words sink in.

"So instead of fretting about what you don't have, savor what you do. Hone your skills, perfect every technichuq, and be not the best leader, but the best person you can be."

Port's words of wisdom seemed to have worked, and Weiss' lips curled into a small smile.

* * *

"You know it's not polite to eavesdrop." Ozpin said, knowing that a certain someone had been listening in on his conversation with the silver-eyed girl.

Gabe sighed and stepped out of the corner. He had managed to catch up to Ruby just as Ozpin had started talking to her.

"That's pretty funny coming from a guy who just did it a couple of minutes ago." He told the headmaster.

"I suppose you're right." Ozpin chuckled. "Anyway, you have perfect timing. This saves me the trouble of looking for you."

The headmaster gave him a stern gaze. "Gabe, I'd like to make a request."

"You want me to keep an eye on the two of them right?" Gabe answered.

"Not just them, but also the rest of your teammates. They're still young. You know how rash and reckless sometimes people can be at that age." Ozpin added.

Gabe let out a small chuckle and nodded in agreement. "You don't have to tell me. You have my word I'll do my best. Besides, it may be fun to play babysitter once in a while."

"Thank you." Ozpin responded, smiling gratefully.

"Gabe?"

Ruby had started making her way back when she ran into the two talking. "Did you come looking for us?"

"Yeah. Where'd Weiss go?" Gabe asked.

"She went off to her next class I think. Where's Yang and Blake?"

"They went on ahead to theirs." Gabe said. "C'mon, we're gonna be late for ours if we don't hurry. I think up next is Weapon Maintenance and Engineering."

"Okay!" The girl nodded cheerily.

Ozpin watched the two teens walk off to class.

"Good luck Gabe."

* * *

The sun had already long set when Weiss returned to their dorms. When she opened the door, she saw that her teammates were already in the middle of decorating their room.

"Weiss!" Ruby greeted. "Welcome back! We were just starting to hang up the posters and stuff."

"Get all the crankiness out of your system?" Yang asked, concerned over her display earlier in Port's class.

"Ruby, can we talk outside for a bit." Weiss requested, deciding a direct approach would be better.

"You girls go on ahead, we can take care of stuff here while you're chatting." Gabe urged the two.

Ruby nodded. "Okay sure."

The two made their way out the room to the far end of the hallway.

"About my behavior earlier today…" Weiss began. "I apologize for lashing out at you and the others. It was unbecoming of me as a huntress in training."

"Yeah, I'm sorry as well for the way I acted earlier." Ruby said in response. "If I'm supposed to lead you guys, I should start acting the part."

"I think you have what it takes to be a good leader. Just know, that I am going to be the best teammate you'll ever have." Weiss said, offering a genuine smile to Ruby. The younger girl responded in kind catching her in a tight hug.

From team RWBY's door, the other three eyed the pair as they made up.

"D'aww that's sooo cute!" Yang said.

"They still have ways to go though." Blake told them.

"Yeah, but this is a definite step in the right direction, wouldn't you say?" Gabe said, looking at the two with a smile on his face.

"Anyway c'mon, we've still got a lot to finish back at our room!" Ruby said. "We were trying to figure out how to fit all our stuff in it without throwing out the beds."

"You know… I always wanted bunk beds since I was a kid." Weiss suggested.

Ruby's face lit up at the idea. The two wasted no time and hurriedly went back to the others.


	13. Free Day

_**A/N**_ _: Hey everyone, I know it's been more than half a year since the last update, but things got a bit too hectic towards the latter third of 2018 to provide regular updates. I haven't stopped writing this story though and was just looking for a proper time to start uploading again. Anyway, like I said in my preface, this started out as something I did for leisure, so I won't guarantee when the next one will come out. What I can say is that it won't take another 6 months again. As always reviews aren't required but they're appreciated._

* * *

"Why did I even bother doing this..."

Gabe sighed as he lied down on the grass, staring once again at the foliage in the Emerald Forest. It was a free weekend and with nothing better do, he decided to relaunch his investigation of the origin point once more. Ozpin informed him that the catapult he used during the initiation was left set to the same coordinates, giving the young swordsman free access to check out the area anytime he wanted. Ozpin had also laid out a path for him to take should he need to go back to Beacon to minimize possible encounters with grimm. Gabe got up way early that morning to reattempt his search.

Not being rushed this time around, Gabe made a more thorough examination of the area. He spent five straight hours looking around nonstop. Unfortunately it only yielded the same result, and he found himself even more frustrated.

On the brightside, and for reasons unknown, he had not encountered any Grimm for the duration of his search. While he had prepared to encounter Beowolves, and perhaps even an Ursa, he wasn't about to complain though. This allowed Gabe to enjoy the ambiance of the forest at the very least.

Picking himself up, he holstered the Junkyard to his hip and stretched his arms.

"At least I got some morning exercise." Gabe muttered to himself. "Wonder if the others are up already."

With nothing left to do, Gabe made his way back to the academy.

* * *

By the time he got back to the dorms, Blake and Yang were already in the dining area having breakfast.

"'Morning Gabe!" Yang greeted as he came in. "Where'd you come from?"

"Just had some morning training. Gotta keep myself sharp." Gabe lied. As much as he wanted to tell his new friends what he was actually up to, he wasn't about to let his secret slip out that easily. He'd let them know if and when the time is right.

"You really are a diligent one aren't you?" Blake remarked.

"Yeah I guess, can't help it." Gabe chuckled. "So what do you guys have planned for today?"

"Actually, I was going to go into town and check out the bookstore. A sequel I've been waiting for is supposed to come out today." Blake told them.

An idea suddenly popped into Yang's mind. "Hey why don't the three of us go together! I mean I don't have plans today, how 'bout you Gabe?"

"I got the day free too." Gabe replied. "What about Ruby and Weiss?"

"Weiss dragged her off earlier to the library" Yang told him. "Something about part of being a good leader is being good in class too."

"And you called me diligent." Gabe said to Blake. "Anyway, I think it might be fun. Is that okay Blake?"

"Sure I don't mind. So will this be team GBY's first mission?" Blake joked

"Call it what you want."

"Alright then it's settled!" Yang exclaimed. "Meet us at the front of the dorm at 11 sharp Gabe! Looks like you could use a bath."

Gabe looked at himself, and sure enough he was still covered in dirt and dust from his early morning dig.

"Yeah, guess you're right." Gabe replied. "I'll see you girls later then."

* * *

By the time they reached the bookstore, a size able line of people had already formed at the storefront. After settling their business, they decided to stop by one of the nearby restaurants and grab a bite to eat before heading back.

The three sat around the table waiting for the food. Gabe was just surfing the CCT on his scroll while Blake already began reading the first chapter of her recent purchase. Yang on the other hand was getting bored of waiting. Since everyone was just idle, she thought it was as good a time as any to get to know her teammates.

"So Gabe, what's your story?" Yang asked as they waited at their table.

Gabe was slightly taken aback by the question, knowing full well that he couldn't just tell her the truth. "Well that came out of nowhere." He replied

Yang shrugged. "Well we're not really doing anything right now. Now's a good a time as any to break the ice a bit." She said. "Seeing as you're the leader, I think it's fair that you start it off." She pointed out with a grin.

Gabe put down his scroll and took a moment as he tried his best to formulate the story he had rehearsed with Ozpin in his head.

"Well to tell you the truth, I'm an orphan." Gabe began. "I don't really remember where I came from or who my real parents since I was still a baby at the time."

"Oh…" Yang said. She was starting to regret asking. "Sorry to hear that..."

Gabe suddenly realized what was going on by her sad tone. "Oh don't worry about it!. It's no big deal really. I'm fine talking about it." Gabe immediately assured her.

"Anyway." Gabe continued. "Luckily for me, the ones who took me in were good people. I grew up with my foster family on an Island north of Menagerie. Had a pretty normal childhood. My parents happened to be pretty good friends with Professor Ozpin. It's partly the reason why I got into Beacon and Signal."

"What about you?" Gabe asked her in return. "I mean I was wondering why you and Ruby didn't share last names. You're sisters right?"

"Yep!" Yang began. "Our dad actually got into a relationship with two women. My mom left us shortly after I was born…" Yang's voice trailed off, and her expression became somber.

Gabe realized they reached another touchy subject. "W-well what about the other one." He said, urging her to continue. ' _Real smooth their Gabe_ ' he mentally scolding himself for asking.

"R-right." Yang's voice stuttered a little. "Uhh anyway, after that Dad ended up getting together with Ruby's mom and gave birth to her. We lived and grew up in Patch. You went to Signal so you should know about it right?"

Gabe nodded. " I heard about the place but never got to check it out though. Stayed exclusively at the dorms while I was there."

A thought suddenly crossed Gabe's mind. "Wait a minute." he interjected. "Where does Qrow fit into all of this?"

"He's my mom's brother." Yang answered. "Actually, our moms, dad and uncle Qrow were all in the same hunting team when they were younger."

"That's neat!" Gabe said, genuinely surprised by the factoid. "Is that why you and Ruby plan to become huntresses?"

"For Ruby yeah, I think that's mostly it." Yang said. "For me, I've just been really drawn to adventure. Y'know, exploring the world, seeing the sights, getting caught up in something exciting..." Yang said in a bit of a daze.

"That's a pretty carefree way to go about things" Gabe remarked

"Eh, it is what it is." Yang shrugged. "How about you?"

"I just want to go back to where I came from…" Gabe quickly realized what he was saying and backtracked."U-uhh I mean, find out who I actually was before I got taken in. If I become a huntsman, I could travel the world and finally search for the answers I need. Maybe then I'll actually find out who I actually am or where I came from"

"That's a pretty heavy goal you've set for yourself." Yang told him. "Do you even know where to start?"

"I thought I did before, but it turns out I might need to do some more digging. Either way, it's better than just sitting somewhere waiting for answers that may never come." Gabe explained. He then turned to their raven haired teammate "What about you Blake?"

The girl in question looked up from her novel. "Hm? Did you guys say something."

"Oh come on!" Yang whined. "We've been pouring our hearts out here. You didn't catch any of it?"

Blake covered her face with the book and looked down in embarrassment. "S-sorry, I just get really engrossed when I'm reading sometimes."

Yang sighed while Gabe let out an amused chuckle. "How's the book?" he asked.

Blake perked up at the inquiry. "I can't really say yet, but so far it's looking good. It's already -"

"I SAID GET OUTTA HERE YA FILTHY ANIMAL!"

The sudden commotion caused the three to turn their heads.

They saw a rather gruff looking man berating the occupant of a table beside him. He had a noticeable scar streaking across his eye. Gabe looked toward the object of his outrage and saw it was a rather young girl with what appeared to be dog ears on her head: a Faunus. She was shaking, almost on the verge of crying

When Gabe first encountered faunus way back when, Ozpin had immediately lectured him on proper etiquette when meeting them, particularly when he noticed the then young boy staring wide eyed at a girl's bunny ears. It took a good while before Gabe's fascination towards them died down to a sense of normalcy.

Gabe couldn't believe it at first when they said that the Faunus were discriminated against by humans. That was when Ozpin gave him a quick history lesson of human-faunus relations. After hearing how humans basically chastised faunus for being different, Gabe immediately drew parallel to his own world's problems with racism and stereotyping. It disgusted him to think that even in an alternate universe, such ideologies were still very much a reality of everyday life.

Thankfully, Vale was much more understanding and welcoming of Faunus compared to other parts of Remnant. However, he had heard from the news every now and then of incidents about faunus discrimination here and there. This was the first time Gabe bore witness to one.

"Ughh that's just the worst!" Yang commented. "We should do someth- uhh where's Blake?"

"Huh?" Gabe looked to their teammate in question. The seat was empty, her book left face down on the table.

"HEY!"

The new voice caught their attention back to the commotion. Blake had gone up to the man, her face red in anger.

"Oh no…" Gabe commented. Both him and Yang wasted no time rushing to their teammate's side.

"She's just here to eat like everyone else!, what's your problem?" Blake demanded.

"Animals aren't supposed to eat at the table!" the man snapped back. "If anything they should just wait patiently for the scraps on the floor!"

"Last I checked, they didn't allow loud obnoxious assholes to be on the table either." Blake answered, unfazed at all by the larger man.

"Yeah, so if don't mind, we suggest you take your business elsewhere." Yang added.

"Tch, damn brats!" The old man growled. Before he could retort, the murmurs around them caught his attention. Their exchange had drawn quite the number of onlookers from both the diners and passers by.

"Dammit, I don't need this."

Not wanting to attract anymore scrutiny, the gruff looking man got up and left, still muttering a couple of choice words under his breath. Yang and Blake watched him go as Gabe turned and knelt down to the young faunus.

"Are you alright?" Gabe asked, concern evident in his tone.

"Yeah. Thanks." she said through tear-stained eyes. Gabe gave her a gentle smile as he tried to calm her down.

* * *

"You surprised me Blake, I didn't expect you to be that upfront about it." Gabe remarked as they neared the dorms.

"I just can't stand seeing that kind of thing happen." Blake said, a hint of anger still in her voice. "What's so different about Faunus and Humans anyway? Why can't we all just treat each other nicely?"

"If it makes you feel better, we feel the exact same way. Right Gabe?" Yang said, turning to their leader. Gabe smiled and nodded in response.

"Still, I kinda wish he retaliated a bit. Would've been a good excuse to deck him." the blonde said, pounding her fists together.

"Let's just be thankful no one got hurt alright?" Gabe said as he opened the door to the dorms.

"YAAAANGG"

They were greeted by a rather desperate looking Ruby.

"Ruby? What's wrong?" The older sister asked.

"You've gotta hide me from Weiss, please!" Ruby begged."I managed to give her the slip when she went to the bathroom earlier, but now-"

"RUBY!"

The girl turned pale as Weiss began coming down the stairs.

"Pleeeease, I'm begging you."

Sighing, Gabe came forward.

"Ruby hide behind the bushes outside. Wait 'til the coast is clear."

The young girl did as instructed. Making sure she wasn't in sight, Gabe turned his attention back to Weiss.

"Weiss? That you?" Gabe called out

"Gabe? Everyone? Have you guys seen Ruby?" the heiress asked, coming down from the stairs.

"Nope sorry haven't seen her. We just got back ourselves." Yang told her.

"What happened?" Blake asked.

"She ditched me during our study session!" Weiss whined. "And we were almost halfway through this semester's readings!"

"For what?" Gabe asked.

"Everything." Weiss said bluntly

"Yikes…" Yang remarked under her breath.

"What were you guys working on when she left?" Gabe asked.

"Well, we were about to go into Professor Oobleck's list of textbooks."

"Oooh that's history right?" Gabe exclaimed. "If it's all the same to you mind if I took Ruby's place? I've actually started some advance reading."

"Really?" Weiss said in a rather impressed tone.

"Yeap! I was planning on studying later anyway to prep for next week." Gabe added. "I've been looking for someone to compare notes with. So, is it okay?"

Weiss sighed. "I suppose, I mean it's better than wasting anymore time in this wild goose chase."

"Cool! let's head to the library then." Gabe said.

For Weiss, the boy's enthusiasm was a welcome change from Ruby's consistent whining. Without wasting any time, the two went on their way.

The three girls watched them leave.

"That was actually pretty smooth." Blake remarked, impressed with Gabe's quick thinking and convincing act.

"I've got a feeling he's not totally lying though." Yang said. Despite the controversial rep he garnered back in Signal, she'd heard stories about how Gabe was actually a pretty good student. She remembered rumors about himbeing one of the top in his class.

"Finally she's out of my hair." Ruby breathed out in relief as she stepped out of the shrubbery. "I know she means well, but that's just waaay too much info for me to process in one day."

Suddenly her scroll's notification rang out. Pulling it out, Ruby saw that Gabe had sent her a message.

" _You owe me big time_ "

* * *

"Were you able to locate him?"

"Yes, he's been taken care of."

"Very well."

From the dark alleys, a lone man stepped out into the dimly lit sidewalk. He was clad in black, for the most part, with red and white patterns adorning some parts of his suit. Most of his face was obscured by a white mask, with red markings similar in style to those on his clothes. Two horns protruded backwards stemming from his hairline. These accentuated his fiery hair, which spiked backward. He was holding what appeared to be a sword, sheathed in a black scabbard.

The man looked back to the alley he emerged from. The dark passage was eerily silent.

Giving it one last glance he went on his way, disappearing into the night.


	14. Bullied and Beaten

Jaune panted heavily as he tried to regain composure. He was exhausted using his sword as support to barely keep himself upright.

Before him towered Cardin, leader of team CRDL. The taller man let out a smug laugh obviously belittling the blonde teen.

Jaune was already frustrated, and the gesture did little to abate it. He charged at Cardin haphazardly. The defender dodged the clumsy attempt easily and countered with a strike from his large mace. Jaune managed to block the attack but was sent flying across the ring, his shield knocked off by the powerful blow. Still, Jaune got back up. He attempted to fight back, swinging his sword widely. Cardin blocked the attack and the two were locked in the middle of the ring. However, it didn't take long before Cardin began overpowering Jaune.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin taunted

"Over my dead bo - UGH"

Cardin kneed Jaune right in the gut, causing the latter to keel over. Jaune rolled on the floor in pain. Cardin approached ominously, looking down at his opponent. He held his hammer high above his head, ready to deliver the finishing blow. As he was about to swing down, a voice rang out in the darkness.

"That's enough."

The lights came back on, and Glynda stepped in between the two combatants. She looked to the class, most of whom were observing intently.

"Students, as you can see Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red." She explained, referring to the gauge below Jaune's image mounted on one of the screens. "In a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match."

Glynda turned to Jaune as he struggled to get up. "Mr. Arc, it's been weeks now. Please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you to decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it's better to move to a more… defensive strategy."

Jaune let out a deep sigh. He looked to his scroll displaying the portraits and aura levels of team JNPR.

"We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf, now would we? Glynda said.

"Speak for yourself." Cardin said mockingly as he stepped off the stage.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away." Glynda reminded the students. "It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing!"

While most of team RWBY shook in excitement for the upcoming event, Pyrrah was more anxious about her team leader. Jaune had not moved an inch from his spot on the floor. His head drooped down his hunched figure, frustration and disappointment clearly visible.

"Need a hand?"

Jaune looked up to the familiar voice. Gabe stood in front of him offering to help him up.

"Thanks." The blonde said, taking his friend's arm.

* * *

"So, There we were in the middle of the night..." Nora began

"It was day" Ren corrected

Team JNPR and Team RWBY sat together in one of the tables during lunch time. Nora was telling everyone one of her tall tales, which Ren quickly pointed out was just a recurring dream she's been having for nearly a month now. Only Yang listened to her while most of the table was preoccupied. Blake was reading one of her books, Weiss was giving herself a manicure and Gabe was looking through his scroll.

Pyrrha and Ruby however were fixated on Jaune, who had been glumly playing with his food. The two girls shared a worried look.

"Jaune… are you okay?" Pyrrha finally asked.

Jaune was broken from his trance, and turned to his teammate. "Uh.. Oh, yeah! Why?"

"It's just that you seem a little… not okay…" Ruby said.

Hearing their conversation, the rest of table turned their gaze to Jaune.

"Eh, guys, I'm fine… Seriously! Look!" Jaune tried to assure them, trying his best to smile and give a thumbs up.

While everyone else looked at him, Gabe's attention was caught by the commotion in the table behind them. Cardin and his team were picking on one of the faunus students.

"Jaune, Cardin's been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha pointed out.

"Who? Cardin Winchester?" Jaune asked, feigning ignorance. "Nah.. he just likes to mess around you know! Practical jokes!"

"He's a bully" Ruby put it bluntly.

"Oh please… name one time he's 'bullied' me…" Jaune challenged them.

This lead to the rest of the table to recall a whole bunch of incidents.

There was that time Cardin knocked down a stack of books the blonde was carrying them through the hallway.

Then another instance where Cardin activated his shield as he was passing through a door, causing him to be stuck for a good while much to his embarrassment.

The worst of it was when Cardin stuffed him in one of the rocket propelled lockers then activated it, sending Jaune flying through the air before crashing outside school grounds.

"I didn't land far from the school…" Jaune pointed out.

"Jaune, you know if you ever need help you can just ask…" Pyrrha reminded him.

"OOH! We'll break his legs!" Nora suggested excitedly.

"Guys, really, it's fine!" Jaune insisted. "Besides, it's not like he's only a jerk to me; he's a jerk to everyone."

"Oww that hurts!"

Their entire table shifted their attention behind them. Cardin was pulling on the Faunus girl's rabbit ears. He gave another sharp tug.

"See? I told you they were real." Cardin laughed.

"What a freak" one of his friends added.

Pyrrha looked at the scene with disgust. "Atrocious. I can't stand people like him."

"You can say that again." Blake said sharply, recalling the incident last weekend.

"It must be hard to be a faunus." Yang commented, feeling sympathy for the girl.

"Please stop…" the girl pleaded.

"Yeah, won't you please quit it?"

The new voice caught everyone by surprise. Team CRDL turned around, wondering just who had the guts to tell them what to do.

There they saw Gabe standing in front of them, a blank expression on his face.

"When did he get there?" Ruby said in an alarmed tone.

The four got up and surrounded him.

"This could get ugly." Ren commented.

"The girl clearly doesn't appreciate you doing that." Gabe continued.

"Well look at you, aren't you the big hero!" one of them jeered. "If you know what's good for you, you'd keep your mouth shut!."

Gabe just remained silent and looked up at Cardin, his countenance unchanging.

His blank stare didn't set well with Cardin. "Maybe this'll teach you not to mess with us!" he shouted as he cocked back his fist and threw a punch.

Before they could come to their friend's aid, Gabe caught the fist with one hand.

"What the-" Cardin struggled to break free. Before long, Gabe began tightening his grip, causing Cardin to get down on one knee and start crying out in pain.

"ARGHH!"

"I said, quit it."

"A-alright.. Fine!" Cardin winced. "Just... let go of my hand already!"

Gabe released his hold. Cardin held his now swollen hand close.

"You're gonna pay for this!" He shouted back before leaving the cafeteria with his posse.

With the bullies gone, Gabe turned to the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." she said. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it… uhh" Gabe said, realizing he didn't know her name.

"It's Velvet." She finished.

"Gabe" he introduced back.

"Anyway, I'll be seeing you around. Thanks again." she said, shaking his hand.

The girl gave one final bow before leaving to return her tray. Gabe went back to his friends.

"I thought you said you didn't want any trouble?" Yang smirked.

"We're in the school, so I'm feeling a bit more comfortable." Gabe pointed out. "It's harder to do this outside. Might get the school's name involved."

"Still, you're usually calm." Blake pointed out. "What happened?"

"Let's just say I have a little less tolerance for intolerance after last weekend." Gabe answered, taking one of his fries.

"Besides, I asked the guy nicely didn't I? He was the one who threw a punch. Not my fault he can't handle my grip" He pointed out before popping it in his mouth.

"Gabe's got a point." Weiss agreed, earning a good chuckle from the table.

* * *

After lunch the group of friends went to their separate classes. JNPR along with Blake and Weiss found themselves in Professor Oobleck's lecture on Faunus History.

"Yes! Yes, prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War, humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing faunus population in Menagerie."

Oobleck was zipping around the room as he went on with the lecture. Most of the students tried to keep up with his pace along with his movement. Jaune however, had started dozing off.

"Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events!" Oobleck went on. "Why the repercussions of this uprising can still be seen to this day."

"Now, have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your faunus heritage?"

Still sore from the incident earlier, Velvet cautiously raised her hand.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful!" Oobleck sympathized. "Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence! I mean just look at what happened to the White Fang?"

"Now, which one of you young scholars can tell me what many theorists to be the turning point in the third year of the War?"

Weiss raised her hand.

"Yes?"

"The battle at Fort Castle." She answered.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune's forces?"

As Oobleck went on, Cardin flinged a paper football over at the sleeping Jaune.

The blonde was abruptly awoken.

"Hey!" Jaune suddenly blurted out in surprise.

"MR. ARC! Finally contributing to class!" Oobleck shouted, getting up close to the blonde boy. "Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! EXCELLENT!"

"What is the answer?"

Still a bit groggy, Jaune tried to piece the question as best he could remember through his dazed state.

"Uhhhh… the answer…" Jaune began slowly. "The advantage… of the faunus… had over that guy's stuff." He looked to his friends behind Oobleck.

Pyrrha tried to help out, pointing to her eyes.

Unfortunately, Jaune misinterpreted her gestures.

"Um, B-binoculars!" he said.

Nearly the entire class let out a combined laugh. Oobleck took a sip of his drink.

"Very funny, Mr. Arc." Oobleck said, returning to his desk. "CARDIN! Perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject!"

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin replied non-chalantly.

Having had enough, Pyrrha shot back.

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?"

"What, you got a problem?" Cardin said in a slightly threatening tone.

"No, I have the answer." Pyrrha continued. "It's night vision. Many faunus are known to have nearly-perfect sight in the dark."

Cardin grumbled in irritation.

"General Lagune was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep." Blake added. "His massive army was outmatched, and the General was captured."

"Perhaps if he'd paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure." Pyrrha said, looking over to Cardin.

The girl's final remark struck a nerve, and Cardin got up his seat and glared at the two.

"Mr. Winchester, please take your seat."

Jaune was snickering in the seat below him, happy that Cardin was finally getting some of his own medicine.

Unfortunately, Oobleck wasn't as amused.

"You AND Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings."

From his hearty cackling, Jaune did a full 180 and let out a groan of defeat.

* * *

The final bell rang, signalling the end of class. Pyrrha, Ren and Nora headed out of the classroom along with the rest of the students.

"You guys go on ahead. I'll wait for Jaune." the redhead told her teammates.

Back inside the room, Oobleck began lecturing the two young men. "You two have been struggling in my class since day one!" Oobleck berated. "Now, I don't know if it's a lack of interest or just your stubborn nature, but whatever it is - it stops now.

"You've worked hard to gain entrance to this school and we only accept the best of the best, So! I expect you to act like it."

As Oobleck went on, Jaune just looked away, wishing for the moment to end as quickly as possible.

Pyrrha waited by the door anxiously, wondering just how much trouble Jaune was in.

"Pyrrha!"

The girl turned to the voice that called out to her, wondering who it was. Much to her surprise, it was Gabe.

"Hello Gabe! What are you doing here?" She greeted back.

Gabe shrugged his shoulders. "I was just coming to see if you guys were done with class. Ren and Nora told me what happened. They're still inside?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, by the sound of it, Oobleck's not letting this go easy."

After a few more moments, the two exited the classroom as Oobleck bolted out the door. Cardin however wasn't through. As Jaune stepped out the door, he shoved him down to the floor and let out a smirk before heading off.

Gabe and Pyrrha helped their friend get up.

"You know, I really will break his legs." Pyrrha told him.

Jaune looked at her slightly before his head hung down once again.

"Hey come on now. Everyone gets a bad day once in a while." Gabe told him. "No use moping around."

Unfortunately this did nothing to lighten Jaune's mood.

A thought suddenly crossed Pyrrha's mind. "I have an idea! Here come with me!"

She grabbed Jaune by the collar and dragged him off hurriedly.

Gabe followed after, albeit at a more casual pace.

* * *

The sun had just set over the horizon as Pyrrha led Jaune out to their dormitory's rooftop.

"Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not THAT depressed." Jaune told her. "I can always be a farmer or something…"

Realizing what he meant, Pyrrha quickly pulled him back from the ledge.

"N-no! That's not why I brought you up here!." she quickly told him.

"Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class, and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... " Pyrrha breathed in. "I wanna help you!"

"W-what?" Jaune asked, a bit confused.

"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us!"

"Y-you think I need help?" Jaune asked her.

"No, that's not what I meant!"

"But you just said it…" Jaune pointed out.

"Jaune, everybody needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us."

"You made it to Beacon, that speaks volumes of what you're capable of!"

Jaune turned away from her.

"You're wrong… I don't belong here." He said.

"That's a terrible thing to say, of course you do." Pyrrha told him, trying to be as encouraging as she could.

"No I don't!" Jaune said facing her, his face looking slightly agitated. The harsh tone took Pyrrha slightly aback. Realizing how he sounded, Jaune let out a sigh.

"I wasn't really accepted into Beacon." He confessed.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any tests, I didn't earn my spot at this Academy!" Jaune answered.

"I lied. I got my hands on some fake transcripts and I lied."

"What? But why?"

"'Cause, this is what I've always wanted to be!" Jaune continued. "My father, my grandfather, and his father before him were all warriors! They were all heroes! I wanted to be one too. I was just never good enough."

Pyrrha approached him and put her hand on his shoulder. "Then let me help you!"

Jaune tugged away. "I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress! I want to be the hero!."

"Jaune I-"

"I am tired of being the lovable idiot, stuck in the tree while his friends fight for their lives! Don't you understand" Jaune snapped back. "If I can't do this on my own… Then what good am I?"

Pyrrha tried to reach out, but Jaune continued to pull away.

"Just, leave me alone, okay?"

Seeing that this wasn't going to go anywhere anytime soon, Pyrrha nodded sadly and gave in to his request. "If that's what you think is best."

Not wanting to anger him further, she made her way quickly off the rooftop.

* * *

Pyrrha went down the stairs still at a loss, depressed from her fight with Jaune.

"So that's why."

Her head suddenly turned up, coming face to face with Gabe.

"Oh Gabe! U-uhh sorry we left you back there." Pyrrha bowed in apology.

Gabe waved it off "Eh, no sweat. Though judging by your talk up there, it sounds like it didn't go too well." Gabe said

"How much did you hear?"

"From when he confessed how he got into Beacon." Gabe told her

With nothing left to lose, Pyrrha decided it may be best to ask for advice.

"What am I supposed to do Gabe?" Pyrrha asked him, looking down at the floor. "I want to help him, but he's just too..."

"Pride can often make people do stupid things, but that doesn't mean you should give up on them." Gabe said. "For now, let's give him some space. Sooner or later he'll come around and realize that nobody can do everything alone. The best we can do is be there to support him when that happens."

"That goes for you too." Gabe told her. "Don't take this all on by yourself. We're his friends too. As well as yours."

Pyrrha smiled at him. "That confidence of yours is admirable. You really think he'll come around?"

"He will." He assured her.

The girl let out an amused chuckle. "I don't know if you're naive or just way too nice."

"I'd prefer the latter." Gabe laughed sheepishly. "I still believe that people are inherently good. Well most of them anyway."

Pyrrha nodded in agreement ."I'll take your word for it then. Thanks Gabe."

"Glad it helped." He told her.

* * *

As Jaune mulled over what had just happened, he heard a snide laugh come from behind him.

"Oh Jaune…" The familiarly smug voice caused Jaune's heart to stop. He turned around dreading the worst.

"Cardin?!" Among all the possible scenarios he had pictured in his head, this was definitely the last thing he had hoped for.

"I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room." he said, an arrogant grin plastered over his face.

"So you snuck into Beacon huh? I've got to say Jaune, I've never expected you to be such a rebel."

"Please! Cardin, please, don't tell anyone!" Jaune pleaded.

"Jaune come on! I'd never rat out a friend like that!" Cardin assured him

"Uh.. a friend?" Jaune asked, not sure what he was saying.

"Of course! We're friends now, Jauney boy!" the larger male said as he got Jaune in a headlock.

"And the way I see it, as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time."

Jaune finally understood what the bully meant. Cardin let him go and he immediately gasped for air.

"That being said… I don't have time to do those extra readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that for me, buddy?" Cardin said while brushing Jaune's hair as he would a dog.

Backed into a corner, Jaune could only accede to his request.

"That's what I thought." Cardin smiled mischievously. He then went to the edge of the roof and began to climb back down his window. "Don't worry Jaune; your secret's safe with me."

As Cardin disappeared from the rooftop, Jaune looked up to the evening sky. Maybe jumping off the building wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	15. On Your Feet

It had been a couple of weeks since Cardin learned of Jaune's secret. Since then the bully had blackmailed Jaune into doing all sorts of errands and requests; finishing homework, buying food, copying notes in class, you name it. As time went on, the requests got even more and more ridiculous, to the point that Jaune found himself having barely enough time to spend with his team.

"How come Jaune gets home so late?"

Nora, Pyrrha and Ren sat around their dorm room, waiting for Jaune to return from his classes. Nora ever the energetic one was jumping on the bed while Ren was doing routine maintenance with his weapons. Pyrrha looked out the window lost in thought.

"He's become rather scarce ever since he's been fraternizing with Cardin." Ren remarked.

"That's weird. Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We... need... our... rest!" Nora said, doing one final flip in the air and landing on her back, comfortably on the bed.

"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha told them. Ren and Nora noticed the rather harsh tone in Pyrrha's voice. They looked to each other and decided it best to stop prodding any further.

Unbeknownst to the three, Jaune was standing right outside their door having just come back. He couldn't recall a moment he felt so helpless. He was making his team worry, while at the same time finding himself unable to tell them the truth about his situation with Cardin, lest he wanted to get kicked out of Beacon.

"Hey Jaune."

The sudden greeting startled the young man from his sulking. He turned around and saw Ruby, cheery as ever.

"Long time no see! Did you lock yourself out again?" Ruby asked him.

"Oh, uh nope." He quickly presented his scroll from his pocket. "Got it!"

"So, where have you been lately?" Ruby asked him. "Me and Gabe were just talking about you the other day."

"I uh…"

Needing to find someone to confide with, as well as being exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally, Jaune opened up to Ruby.

"I messed up.." Jaune began. "I did something I shouldn't have and now Cardin's got me on a leash and Pyrrha won't even talk to me…"

Jaune let out a sigh. "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea."

He slid down to slump in front of their door. "I'm a failure."

"Nope."

"Nope?" Jaune questioned, turning to the girl.

"Nope. You're a leader now, Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure."

"But, what if I'm a failure at being a leader."

"Mmm… Nope." Ruby said again.

Jaune let out a small chuckle, amused at Ruby's answer. "You know, you're not the easiest person to talk to about this kind of stuff."

Ruby took a seat on the floor beside him. "Nope!"

"Jaune, maybe you were a failure when you were a kid, and you might've even been a failure the first day we met…" Jaune found himself sinking lower and lower into the floor with each passing comment.

"But you can't be one now. You know why?" Ruby asked him.

"Uhh, because-"

"Because it's not just about you anymore." Ruby told him. "You've got a team now Jaune. You, me and Gabe as well. If we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us."

"We have to put our teammates first, and ourselves second. Your team deserves a great leader Jaune, and I think that can be you." Ruby ended.

Jaune was left speechless, surprised by everything that Ruby had just said. For someone who was goofing off in class during the first day, she sure had come a long way.

Ruby let out a yawn. "Anyway, I'm gonna go back to our room. Have a good night Jaune." She bade the boy farewell before going returning to team RWBY's abode.

As Jaune got up from his slump and began to enter their dorm, his scroll suddenly rang out. Pulling it out, he noticed it was a message from Cardin.

"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin. I know you're probably busy with that dust project I gave you, buuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of rapier wasps, and make sure they've got some really big stingers. It's important, so don't screw this up."

Jaune let out a defeated sigh as he trudged out to do as instructed. Lost in his sulking, he failed to notice that the door beside their room was slightly ajar.

From his room, Gabe eyed Jaune as he left the hallway.

* * *

The students walked in single file as they entered the Forever Fall forest. Surrounding them were trees lush with red leaves, giving the area an ambiance similar to it's namesake. For many of the students this was their first time coming here, and several were at awe as they marveled their surroundings. At the head of the line was Glynda, serving as today's chaperone.

"Yes students, the Forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sight-see. Professor Peaches asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside this forest." Glynda reminded them. "And I'm here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

"Let me guess, there's Grimm?" Gabe asked.

"Correct Gabriel. Now…" Glynda turned around to face the students. "Each of you is to gather one jar of red sap. However, as Mr. Steppe mentioned, this forest is infested with the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay with your teammates."

"We will rendezvous back here at 4'o clock. Have fun!"

"Hey you could die here, have fun!" Gabe said sarcastically. "Ughh.. I don't think I'll get used to that."

Yang nudged him on the shoulder "Aww c'mon lighten up! If anything happens, at least you're with us."

Yang's reassurance did little to ease the tension Gabe felt. He was however, more concerned with the group at the back.

At the far end of the line was Team CRDL tailed by Jaune, who was carrying all of their things. If Cardin did know about Jaune's secret, confronting the guy head on would probably do more harm than good. The last thing he wanted was to make things harder for Jaune.

At the back of the line, Cardin grabbed Jaune by the collar. "C'mon buddy, let's go!" the bully said in his usual snarky tone.

Jaune looked towards the front. RWBY and his team were already beginning to make their way into the forest, save for Pyrrha and Gabe who were looking at him. Their gaze only made him feel more ashamed of how he was handling his current situation. Looking down in defeat, he promptly tailed Cardin and his crew.

Pyrrha let out a sad sigh, before joining up with the others. Gabe grit his teeth, frustrated he couldn't find a way to help his friend.

* * *

As expected, Cardin once again exploited Jaune into doing his team's work the entire afternoon. Jaune brought the filled up jars to where team CRDL slacked off before dropping down to the ground himself, his energy spent.

"Hey, great work Jauney boy." Cardin greeted him. "Now that wasn't too hard, was it?"

"I think I'm allergic to this stuff." Jaune said, feeling his nose stuffing up.

"Great great great." Cardin said, completely ignoring the boy's reply. "So Jaune, I bet you're asking yourself, 'why did my buddy Cardin ask me to collect seven Jars of tree sap when there's only five of us?"

"That is one of the many questions I've asked myself today yes." Jaune said, sitting up on the ground.

"Well, come with me and you'll find out." Cardin beckoned.

Jaune gulped a lump in his throat, not liking where this was going.

* * *

"You really think they know?" Pyrrha asked Gabe worriedly.

The two were chatting as they gathered the sap with their teams.

"It's the only thing I could think of." Gabe told her. "Last night I heard his voice coming out from Jaune's scroll. Cardin's probably blackmailing him to do stuff for them. That's most likely why he's always home so late."

"But how could they have… the rooftop!" Pyrrha exclaimed. "Cardin must've somehow overheard us while we were talking!"

"This is all my fault…if I hadn't dragged him there none of this would have happened."

"Come on now, this was an accident." Gabe told her. "Anyway, talking about how they knew isn't gonna do any good. Let's focus on helping him get out of this mess instead."

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes you're right"

As they worked to finish the task quickly, Team CRDL led Jaune up one of the hills overlooking their spot in the forest. Peering down, Jaune saw team RWBY and his team hard at work collecting the samples.

"Cardin, what's going on?" Jaune asked warily.

"Payback." Cardin said bluntly, his face much more serious.

The gears in Jaune's head clicked. ' _Pyrrha and Gabe?_ '

The two were currently preoccupied gathering sap from one of the trees. "What are you-"

"There they are, that red-haired know-it-all and that punk from the cafeteria."

"Alright boys." Cardin said, taking out the box they brought with them. "Last night ol' Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of rapier wasps."

"And now, we're gonna put'em to work."

"Now, according to one of the essays he wrote for me last week, these nasty things looove sweets." Cardin said mischievously. "I'm thinkin it's time we teach them a thing or two."

Cardin pulled Jaune up from the ground forcefully and shoved two jars of sap in his hands. "And you're gonna do it."

"Do what?"

"Hit them with the sap! Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."

Jaune looked down to the jars he held, then back to Cardin and his gang, who all gave him the same mug grin.

Jaune took one of the jars and got into throwing stance. Looking back to his friends, he felt his resolve wavering. The jar began shaking in his hand.

Up until that point, he didn't mind being pushed around to do things. But this, this was an act of betrayal to the two people who have tried to help him out the most. This was beyond all he could tolerate. Enough was enough.

"No." Jaune told Cardin firmly.

"What did you say?" Cardin asked him.

The jar continued to shake in Jaune's hand. The pent up anger and frustration he had felt for the past couple of weeks was starting to come out before finally...

"I SAID NO!" Without realizing it, Jaune threw the jar right into Cardin, covering him in the sap.

Caught up in the moment, Jaune failed to immediately realize what he had just done. After a few seconds, the gravity of his actions hit him like a truck. A look of dread began forming on his face.

"Oh-ho-ho, you've done it now."

Jaune shivered in place. He knew what was about to happen, and braced himself for the incoming beating.

* * *

Jaune fell to the ground as Cardin punched him once more.

"You know that wasn't very smart Jauney boy." Cardin picked him up and held him by his collar. "I'm gonna make sure they send you back to mommy in teeny, tiny, pieces."

Jaune looked at Cardin sternly. "I don't care what you do to me, but you're not messing with my team."

"What, you think talk like that makes you tough? You think you're a big strong man now?!" Cardin asked him, getting annoyed with the blonde's new found spunk.

Jaune just looked at him and let out a smile. This didn't sit with Cardin too well, and he threw another punch straight at Jaune's face.

However, instead of connecting, there was a blinding flash of light. Cardin reeled his fist back as he grunted in pain.

Jaune fell to the ground, clueless as to what just happened. Feeling his face a bit, he noticed that the bruise was gone. He looked at his hands, and a bright light flowed through them along with a rather distinct whirring sound.

Unfortunately, before he could make sense of everything, he was kicked from behind by one of Cardin's teammates. Jaune fell with a loud thud on the hard ground.

Cardin looked down at him cracking his fists.

"Now, let's see just how much of a man you really are."

Unfortunately, things were about to take a turn for the worse.

Before the gang could continue their assault, loud roar went off from the woods behind them. Their faces paled in horror, already knowing what it was.

Out of the foliage burst forth the culprit, an Ursa. However, this was nothing like the ones they faced back in Emerald forest. Apart from its much larger stature and bulk, it also had an array massive spikes protruding from its back. Its eyes glowed a deep and sinister red.

The enormous grimm stopped right in front of them and stood on its hind legs. Towering over the students, it sniffed the air, searching for something. It surveyed at the frightened teens one by one, before its eyes locked on Cardin.

"R-RUN" shouted one of the bullies. The others wasted no time and hauled themselves away as quickly as they could.

Cardin was too focused on the grimm to notice his team had abandoned him. The massive creature took a swipe at him, knocking Cardin to the side.

All this time Jaune had not moved an inch from his spot. He expected that the Ursa would be going after him next, but the attack never came. Instead the creature turned away and approached Cardin, who was still recovering from the initial strike.

Jaune stood up, puzzled as much as he was frightened. Why did the grimm not go after him? As he the thought crossed his mind, he noticed that Cardin's armor was still covered by the sap from earlier. Remembering that the bear was snuffling around before attacking, Jaune realized what was going on.

' _Looks like rapier wasps aren't the only ones who love the sap.'_ Jaune mentally noted.

With the Ursa now leering over him, Cardin attempted to defend with his mace. It was an effort in futility as the Ursa knocked it off his hands with a single swipe from its massive forelimbs.

The creature then went in for the kill. Luckily Cardin managed to roll over and dodge what would have surely been a fatal blow. Scrambling to get up, he bolted off as fast as he could.

* * *

Back with the others, Team RWBY and JNPR were just about wrapping up for the afternoon when they heard a roar from the distance.

"Uhh did you guys hear that?" Ruby asked everyone.

Not soon after, Cardin's team ran past them, all looking panicked.

"URSA! URSA!" They were yelling.

One of them bumped into Yang. She immediately grabbed him by the collar.

"What? Where?!" The blonde interrogated.

"Back there it's got Cardin!"

Pyrrha dropped her Jar. If Cardin was in trouble, then that also meant one other thing.

"Jaune!" she cried out.

"Yang! You and Blake, go get Professor Goodwitch." Ruby told the two.

Pyrrha turned to Nora and Ren. "You two go with them! There could be-"

The redhead was interrupted as two more Ursa sprang out from the woods, taking the group by surprise.

"Ughh dammit!" Gabe growled in frustration.

"Change of plans. Blake, go with Ren and Nora to get Professor Goodwitch, Yang and Gabe, hold these two off!" Ruby told them

"Finally some action!" Yang exclaimed, taking out a couple of bandoleers and loading them up on her gauntlets.

"Why does it always end up like this?" Gabe whined as he revved up the Junkyard.

"Pyrrha, Weiss let's go!" Ruby urged them. The three darted towards the direction of the roar.

"Alright Gabe you heard her. Let's do this!" Yang exclaimed before charging in.

"I'd really rather we didn't." Gabe said before following after the blonde.

* * *

Cardin was sprinting frantically out of the woods with the Ursa still in hot pursuit. The massive grim suddenly jumped up and landed right in front of of the hapless boy before catching him with another strike. It was strong enough to send Cardin flying.

With his aura close to depletion, Cardin tried to limp away. The Ursa stalked him slowly, confident it had cornered its prey.

As Ruby, Weiss and Pyrrha arrived at the scene, the Ursa was readying itself to strike Cardin down.

"Oh no!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

Just as when all things seemed hopeless for Cardin, a shield suddenly came in and blocked the Ursa's deathblow.

Jaune struggled under the Ursa's strength.

Weiss and Ruby wasted no time getting into stance. As they were about to go in and assist Jaune, Pyrrha held them back.

"Wait!" Pyrrha told them.

Right on cue, Jaune knocked the Ursa's paw away and countered back with a slash from his sword. The blow sent the creature reeling back. Now enraged, the Ursa swung at Jaune. He managed to dodge the attack with roll to the side. The behemoth swung two more times. The second hit found its mark and Jaune was knocked backwards, tumbling onto the red field. The boy quickly got up and made an attempt to counter. The Ursa was prepared this time, and caught him mid-air with a powerful swing, knocking him away once again. Jaune landed in a heap with a loud thud.

Looking to his scroll, he noticed that his aura levels were dropping. If he hoped to have any chance of coming out victorious, he had to do so in the next attack.

The Ursa came up to him and let out another roar. Jaune stood his ground refusing to be intimidated. With the fight culminating to its climactic clash, Jaune charged at the Ursa head on. The Grimm rushed toward him.

As the two combatants went for the decisive blow, Pyrrha noticed that Jaune's shield was too low to block the incoming attack. With a flick of her wrist, she raised the shield higher. As the two clashed, Jaune managed to block the Ursa's strike. Seeing the opening, he landed a fatal slice to the creature's neck, beheading the Grimm and killing it off once and for all.

Ruby and Weiss noticed Pyrrha's gesture. Needless to say, they were baffled.

"Uh what?" Ruby asked

"How did you…"

"Well, Ruby has her speed, you have your glyphs, my semblance is polarity." Pyrrha explained.

"Ahh you can control poles." Ruby said

"No you dunce! It means she has control over magnetism" Weiss corrected her.

"Magnets are cool too..."

Jaune walked up to Cardin and offered his hand as assistance. Cardin didn't know what was more shocking; that he managed to live through the ordeal or that he was saved by Jaune.

As Cardin took his hand, Jaune pulled him up forcefully, making sure they were seeing eye to eye. He gave his bully a stern look.

"Don't. ever. mess with my team… my friends, ever again. Got it?" Jaune told him.

The three girls continued observing from the side. "Aren't you gonna tell them what happened?" Ruby whispered to Pyrrha.

"We could, or perhaps we could just keep it our little secret." Pyrrha told them, giving them a wink.

Weiss let out a sigh. "I wonder how Gabe and Yang are doi-"

She was cut off by the sound of an explosion.

"Sounds like they're doing fine." Ruby said, letting out a small giggle.

* * *

"Now that's what I call ending with a ' _Yang'_!"

"...really? You're gonna make puns at a time like this?"

Gabe and Yang stood staring at the two Ursa corpses fading away in front of them.

"Well, you should have ' _Gabe'_ them a chance." Yang retorted, giving him a grin along with matching finger guns.

"That's not even proper grammar!" Gabe snapped back. The girl giggled in amusement at his annoyance.

* * *

It didn't take long before Glynda Goodwitch arrived at the scene. After accounting for everyone and making sure no one was seriously injured, she decided it best to end their little excursion.

A few days have passed since then, and along with it was a very noticeable change. Since the trip, many students and staff alike took note that team CRDL had stopped bullying their peers, especially Jaune. It seemed the unpleasant experience humbled the group as a whole. If nothing else it kept Jaune's secret safe, with Cardin feeling indebted to the blonde for saving his life.

Despite how things managed to work themselves at the end, there was still one thing bothering the leader of team JNPR.

Jaune found himself standing atop their dorm's rooftop, reflecting on all that had recently transpired. By all accounts, he should be happy that he got to continue his stay in Beacon. However, he knew there was still one thing he needed to do.

"No Cardin tonight?"

The familiar voice interrupted his thoughts. Pyrrha approached the boy cautiously.

"I thought you two were best buds?"

Swallowing his pride, he turned to the girl.

"Pyrrha, I'm sorry." Jaune began. "I was a jerk. You were only trying to be nice and… I-I had all this stupid macho stuff in my head-"

"Jaune." Pyrrha interjected. "It's okay."

"Your team really misses their leader you know."

She smiled at him, and Jaune smiled back.

"You should come down. Ren made pancakes." She told him before turning to head back to their room.

"W-wait!" Jaune called out. Pyrrha looked back to face him.

"I know I don't deserve it after all that happened, but... would you still be willing to help me? To help me become a better fighter."

Pyrrha's just gave him a blank look and turned around. Though he hoped things would turn out better, like he said so himself, Jaune already convinced himself he didn't deserve it.

Just as he was about to give up on the prospect, Pyrrha suddenly approached him and gave him a strong shove. Jaune fell flat on the ground.

"Hey!" Jaune yelped. He knew he hadn't been the best person during the past couple of weeks, but getting shoved to the ground he felt was going a bit too far.

"Your stance is all wrong. You need to be wider and lower to the ground." She told him matter of factly."

She offered her hand to help him up, giving him a warm smile.

"Let's try that again."

From the door behind them, Gabe just looked on with a contented smile, happy at how the entire fiasco concluded.

Deciding it best to leave the two to their business, he retreated back down the stairs.

"GABE!" Nora called out to him. "Have you seen Jaune and Pyrrha?"

"Yeah, they should be coming down a bit later." He told the hyperactive girl. "C'mon, I heard Ren made pancakes."

"Hey you better not eat their share!"

"Of course not, I'm gonna protect their share from you" He joked.

"HEY it's not like I'm a pig!" Nora whined making Gabe laugh. The light-hearted banter continued as the two went back to team JNPR's room.

The sweet scent of honey filled the air.


	16. Highs and Lows

"Thanks for helping me carry these back."

"No problem. You really do love books huh."

"I still can't wrap my head around how you're gonna finish all these in 2 weeks."

Gabe, Blake and Yang entered the dormitory each carrying a sizeable stack of books. Blake had gone to the library to borrow readings for their next lesson with Oobleck. While talking to the librarian, she learned there was no limit to the number of books students could borrow. Before she knew it, Blake ended up coming out with a whole slew of novels of varying genres . Luckily for team RWBY's bookworm, Yang and Gabe were just passing by in front of the library coming from their final classes.

"Aaand done." Gabe said putting down the stack of books on one of team RWBY's shelves. He wiped some sweat off his brow and surveyed their dwelling place.

"It still amazes me how we were able to stack the beds." He commented.

"Well it was your idea to use a rope for Ruby's bed" Yang reminded him.

"I was only joking then, didn't expect it to actually work." Gabe told her.

"Come to think of it we've never seen your room Gabe." Blake pointed out.

"Oooh are you inviting yourself into a guy's room? Is that how it starts in one of your books?" Yang teased.

Blake let out a furious blush. "I didn't mean anything by it! It was just a comment."

Gabe let out a nervous laugh.

"I don't really mind, but there's nothing in there worth showing." Gabe told them.

"We'll be the judge of that." Yang said with a mischievous grin.

Since he really didn't have anything better to do at the moment, Gabe decided to entertain their curiosity and led them to his humble abode. Blake and Yang looked around.

"Wow you weren't kidding." Blake said dryly.

Save for Gabe's bags in the corner and his clothes in the closet, the room had nothing in it whatsoever. Even the shelves were empty, as Gabe kept most of his books in his locker.

"I told you guys. Don't really have much stuff on me." Gabe told them as they surveyed the dorm.

"Don't you get lonely in here?" Yang asked him. Having grown up with a younger sibling running around, she couldn't imagine being isolated in a room this desolate.

"Not really. I'm an only child so I'm used to it." Gabe answered. "Though I do have to say it feels too big at times, especially with the four empty beds."

"Hey guys, watcha up to?"

Ruby and Weiss had just come back and noticed the door to Gabe's room open.

"Just checking out the barren wasteland that's Gabe's room." Blake told them.

"Hey, no need to be harsh!" Gabe whined.

"Well it's true." Yang added.

"I mean it's not like we're staying here all the time. Isn't it enough to have the room be comfortable to sleep in?" He told them.

"But aren't we going to be here at Beacon for four years at least?" Yang counter argued. "It may not be much but it'd be nice to have some decorations around here."

Weiss' face suddenly lit up. "Hey, since Gabe helped us out with fixing our room, why don't we return the favor?" she suggested. Team RWBY nodded in unison.

"No guys, really it's fine!" Gabe told them, waving his hands in reluctance.

"It's alright Gabe, we wanna do it!" Ruby assured him.

"Yeah, I don't get why you're so against this." Blake added, eyebrows slightly raised.

"Well that's…" Gabe stopped himself. If he were being honest, the real reason why he hadn't thought about it much was due largely in part to his own circumstances. True he had been living in Remnant for nearly four years now, however he still held hope that one day he might just wake up in his room back on Earth. Given how bizarre and sudden his appearance in Remnant was, there was no telling when he just might suddenly go up and disappear. Who knows, by tomorrow morning he might be long gone.

Because of this, Gabe never bothered to get anything other than the bear necessities to get by everyday life. He didn't want to leave too much stuff behind, much less bother other people to get stuff for him.

This time though, his niceness was working against him. He always had a hard time saying no to requests or favors from good friends. His inability to come up with a solid alibi coupled with their expressions of disappointment weren't doing any help either.

Sighing in defeat, Gabe resigned himself to their whims.

"Alright… I guess this place could use a bit of decorating." With that, the girls all cheered.

"That's the spirit!" Yang told him, putting an arm around his shoulder. "So, how much Lien are you working with?"

"Uh well…" Gabe took out his scroll. "Here's what I've got so far from saving my allowance… that good enough.?" He presented the screen to the four girls, eliciting a collective gasp save for Weiss.

"Y-you're kidding right?" Ruby asked him.

"Uhh no, why?"

"How long did it take you to save this much?" Blake asked him.

"Hmm since I went to Signal 'til all the way up to now… I'd say a little over 4 years." Gabe told them matter of factly. The four looked at him incredulously.

"What?"

"With that much money I'm surprised you're staying in a dingy old dorm like this!" Yang exclaimed.

"I mean Weiss stays here, and she's definitely way more loaded than I am." Gabe told the blonde, pointing to the white-haired girl.

"I didn't have much choice in the matter of accommodation. It was a struggle enough to secure my attendance at Beacon" Weiss explained to him.

"In any case, we should be able to do a lot with this!" Ruby noted.

"Hold up." Gabe spoke out, putting his hand in the air. "We're not spending everything just to liven up this place. I'm capping it at half."

"That's more than enough!" Ruby told him. "Alright Team RWBY, our next mission starts 10:00 AM tomorrow sharp!"

Gabe let out a sigh as the four girls cheered.

* * *

"Why'd you have to drag us into this?"

"Don't forget I'm also part of team JNPR. It's only fair you guys also get a say on how to decorate my room too."

Jaune let out a groan as he, Gabe and Ren trailed behind the rest of their teammates who were going from window to window, checking out the stores. Since they arrived at the mall, the girls wasted no time and began combing through the outlets that lined the mall's corridors.

"Besides you two are the only other guys I'm close with at Beacon. Gotta have some back up when they start suggesting something way too outrageous." Gabe pointed out.

"Flattering." Ren commented, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "You know they just probably used this as an excuse to go shopping right?"

Gabe just shrugged it off. "Eh, let's see what happens."

They made their way through the mall leisurely, taking their time and enjoying each other's company. As Ren had predicted, the boys were dragged along as the girls went on their shopping spree. Before they realized it, each of the boys were designated to carrying no less than 4 bags each.

Despite Jaune's constant whining and the increasing weight of merchandise they were burdened with, Gabe didn't mind at all with how things were going. For once, it seemed like they were nothing more than normal teenagers just enjoying the day off school. No grimm, no life or death situations, just a group of friends hanging out.

"Guys, I know you probably wanted to do some shopping, BUT COME ON!" Jaune whined.

The group decided to drop by the mall's food court to take a quick break, after much urging from the boys.

"We've been going around the mall for three hours now without doing anything remotely related to interior decorating!"

Pyrrha laughed nervously. "I guess we did go a little overboard, sorry."

"Aw don't be such a stick in the mud Jaune! We rarely get the time to do stuff like this!" Nora told him. "Right Gabe?"

Gabe looked up from his smoothie. "Yeah, I don't really mind. Besides it's kinda fun to feel normal for once." He told them.

"You're being way too nice." Ren said.

"Jaune does have a point though. This trip was supposed to be for Gabe after all." Ruby acknowledged. "How about we let him decide where to go next?"

Both JNPR and RWBY looked to him.

"Well…"

* * *

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Yang whistled as they looked at the large television getting packaged in a similarly sized box.

Gabe had decided for the group to head into the electronics and entertainment section, where he wasted no time in getting a 60 inch flat screen and home entertainment system, as well as a couple of smaller monitors, a video game console, and a personal computer.

"I always wanted to own this stuff." Gabe told them sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"That's a pretty sizeable purchase. Isn't this going a bit over the edge?" Blake remarked, still wide-eyed in surprise at Gabe's rushed acquisition.

"I already researched all the components last night." Gabe told her, presenting his scroll. "I listed them down and made sure everything was still within budget. After this, there should be plenty of money left for any other stuff we might end up buying."

"Leave it to Gabe to come prepared, unlike some people I know." Weiss remarked while giving Ruby a knowing look.

"Hey! I resent that!" Ruby retorted, sticking her tounge out at the heiress.

"And you said you didn't wanna do this." Yang snickered.

"Well you guys already talked me into it. Figured I might as well go all out."

"Now we all have a room that's got a kick-ass TV! Oh, we can even have movie nights! Ren can even make s'mores!" Nora exclaimed, clapping giddily.

"Hey don't just volunteer me without my consent!" Ren told her.

"Not to mention that GameStation Gabe bought! What games did you get?" Jaune asked him.

"A bit of everything." Gabe answered. "Though I made sure to get multiplayer ones for the most part."

As they watched mall staff arrange everything for delivery to the dorms, a news flash suddenly popped up on one of the TV's on display.

" _In other news, a man was found dead in one of the back alleyways near the shopping district earlier today. The man has been identified by the name …"_

Blake managed to get a glimpse of the screen as it flashed the portrait of the victim.

"Uhh.. Gabe? Yang?"

"What's up?" Gabe asked.

Blake pointed to the monitor in front of them. The two looked at the portrait onscreen. Upon noticing the scar, they realized just who it was.

"Isn't that the guy we told off at the restaurant?" Yang asked to make sure the three of them were on the same page.

"Yeah" Gabe nodded. There was no mistaking it. It was the bigoted old man who was picking on the young faunus girl at the restaurant way back when.

" _The victim had been reported missing for nearly a month. Police are still unsure what motive the killer had, but current findings suggest that the perpetrator may have been a member of the White Fang. Suspicion on the group was roused after learning of the victim's bad relations with Vale's faunus population..."_

"That's terrible." Yang exclaimed. "He wasn't the nicest guy, but no one deserves to go out like that."

"I agree, but for a guy like that, it's easy to see why he could've upset the wrong kind of people." Gabe said.

"The White Fang?" Ruby asked.

Pyrrha nodded. "A radical organization made up by Faunus. According to the books, the White Fang didn't initially start out like this. It was supposed to be just a peaceful movement meant to fight for Faunus rights. But due to a series of unfortunate events, one thing led to another and they've since devolved into a terrorist group."

"However bad they may have had it, it doesn't excuse them for doing things like this!" Weiss added. "Don't even get me started with how much they've cost us. They have been nothing but a consistent thorn on my family's side."

"Now now let's try to remember why we're here." Jaune pleaded, trying to calm Weiss down. "Besides getting angry or anxious here won't do us any good."

"Yeah you're right." Yang agreed. "C'mon, we've still a bunch of stores to go to."

As the group made their way out, Gabe noticed that Blake was still fixated on the screen, staring at the White Fang insignia.

"Uh Blake, you alright?" Gabe asked her.

His question broke the girl's trance. "Oh… uh yeah. Sorry, drifted off a bit there." Blake apologized.

"Don't be, it's fine. C'mon, let's catch up with the others."

Blake nodded and the two rejoined the group.

* * *

"Aaaaaand DONE!" Nora and Ruby exclaimed in unison.

Upon getting back to the dorms that afternoon, the group of friends wasted no time and rushed into Gabe's room. After a good amount of lifting, hanging and a bit of hammering, they finally finished fixing their teammate's abode.

Yesterday after team RWBY left his room, Gabe informed Ozpin what they were planning and requested for the three other beds to be taken away along with a couple of other things. The Headmaster was more than happy to comply with his request, freeing up a sizable amount of space, and make use of that space they did.

Over at the far right corner from the door the group affixed the home entertainment system as well as most of the electronics Gabe had purchased, along with a large rectangular green woolen rug, a brown sectional couch and a couple of black and white bean bag chairs.

Beside the entertainment area, was a large round wooden table complete with a lazy susan. Encircling it were 8 wooden chairs. It was the perfect multipurpose area, from group cram studying to craving-induced pizza nights. It was conveniently positioned just under the hanging fluorescent lamp that lit up the whole room.

The four small shelves that originally lined the walls were stacked on top of each other and placed by the left side of the door. There they placed the games that Gabe had bought, along with some movies and a good number of books that Blake had borrowed from the library the day prior.

Finally by Gabe's bedside, they had managed to get their hands on a miniature refrigerator for a surprisingly low price. It was a wee bit taller than the standard dorm bed, making it a perfect night table along with being emergency cold storage. In front of the bed was the one remaining study table and dresser containing all of Gabe's clothes.

The group took a moment to take in their accomplishment for the day.

"I get a feeling we're all gonna be hanging out here way more now." Jaune remarked.

"So what do you think?" Pyrrha asked Gabe, giving him an expectant look.

"To be honest it feels like we just made our own private living room. I like it." Gabe told them with an approving smile.

"Well I'd say that was a mission success!" Ruby cheered.

"I CALL FIRST DIBS ON THE TV" Nora declared, jumping on the couch and grabbing the remote.

"HEY get off! I want to try some of the games we bought!" Yang demanded, wrestling with Nora to get the remote.

"C'mon you two, at least let Gabe have a first crack at it!" Weiss scolded them

As the banter continued to escalate, Gabe looked at them amused, though he can't help but feel a bit melancholic. Long had he missed days like this, when he could simply spend time with his friends without thinking about anything else. Though his teammates were good company, looking at them reminded him of how much he missed his own group back in his world. He felt a pang of sadness course through him.

What was going on back on earth? How much time had passed? Was he still in his room asleep, or had time continued on without him? If it did, were his friends and family aware of his situation? How did they react?

Did they miss him?

Did he make anyone worry?

How were they doing?

Was he still alive... or did he actually die?

Before he knew it, his mind was caught in a downward spiral. Each thought left him more anxious and depressed. Questions continued to race through his mind, until finally...

"Gabe?"

The mention of his name brought him back. He saw his friends gathered around him, their faces all showing concern.

"Uhh...what's up?" he asked back, wondering about the sudden attention.

"Why are you crying?"

"Huh?"

He put a hand on his face, and sure enough, he felt the tears streaking down his cheeks.

' _Ah shit…_ '

"Is it about the TV? 'Cause we're really sorry!" Nora tried to apologize.

"N-no, it's not that!" Gabe told her "It's nobody's fault."

"Are you sure?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. No idea where that came from. Sorry for bringing down the mood like that." Gabe wiped his eyes. "Anyway, thanks for decorating the room everyone."

"No need to be so formal! We're all friends here." Jaune told him. "So, how about we get this dorm-warming started?"

The entire room cheered.

* * *

Gabe laid on his bed. On his hand above him, he held his phone. He found himself staring at it once again. The party had gone on late into the evening before everyone decided to call it a day. After exchanging good nights with his friends and cleaning up the mess left behind, he once again found himself alone with his thoughts.

His mind went back to his little "episode" earlier that afternoon. He was usually in control of his emotions, so the involuntary waterworks had him a bit unnerved.

Before deciding to walk the path of a huntsman, he told himself that he wouldn't let his looming depression get the better of him. It would only get in his way of ultimately getting back home. However, it seems he underestimated how much he was actually hurting inside.

Gabe let out a sigh. He found himself wallowing again in sadness. It was one of the things he hated the most. He couldn't stand seeing other people feel sorry for themselves. Yet here he was, doing just exactly that.

Thankfully his thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Gabe quickly stowed the phone in the night desk by his bedside.

"Gabe, you still awake?"

The boy recognized the voice "Yang?"

He opened the door, coming face to face with the girl in question.

"Well this is unexpected." Gabe said, closing the door behind them. "What's up?"

"Listen, about what happened earlier this afternoon." Yang began. "Are you absolutely sure that there's nothing wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Gabe reassured her. "I didn't think it would bother you that much."

"Well, uncle Qrow mentioned to us before that you didn't really have friends back in Signal" Yang explained. "I was thinking maybe you didn't have anyone to share stuff with."

"But things are different now. Don't think you're alone. You've got friends."

"I'm not gonna force it out of you if it's really personal, but if there's anything we can do to help, I hope you'll let us know." Yang told him.

Gabe just looked at her speechless. Deja vu hit him like a truck, recalling how he had a kind of similar conversation with Pyrrha some weeks back.

Unfortunately, circumstances weren't quite the same. He genuinely wished he could be honest with them, how he wasn't really an adolescent boy, how he came from a different world, how he'd been stuck here for 4 years and how he desperately wanted to see his home again.

But he had promised Ozpin to keep it secret. There had to be a reason to keep tight lipped about it, right? If nothing else, it was the very least he could do to show how grateful he was for everything the man had done for him. What's more, he couldn't see how sharing his secret would do them any good. Worst case scenario, he might end up attracting unwanted attention. He recalled the news report they saw earlier at the mall.

Maybe down the road he'd be able to share it with them, but not right now.

"Thanks Yang." Gabe replied, giving the girl a small smile. "I promise to keep that in mind."

"So... you're sure you're ok?" Yang asked, one final time.

"Yeah. I'm really grateful your showing this much concern. But really, it's nothing to get worked up about." Gabe tried to reassure her.

"Okay, then if you say so." Yang said, giving him one final smile. "If there isn't anything else, I guess I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Sure, have a good night."

After making sure she had retreated back to their room, Gabe slumped back into his bed. If he wasn't depressed before, he sure as hell was now. He hated that he had to lie through his teeth, especially to his friend. Taking out his phone again, he looked at his reflection, barely visible on the dim screen.

It looks like sleep won't be coming easy tonight.


	17. Doubts

It was your typical Friday afternoon at Beacon Academy as students flocked out of the classrooms looking forward to the weekend. While most opted to kick back and relax in their dorms or go to one of the popular hang out spots in town, team RWBY found themselves traversing towards the docks. All around them, people were busy hanging streamers and banners, decorating every street for a momentous occasion.

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful" Weiss exclaimed, as she led the group towards their destination.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss." Ruby told her. "It's kinda weirding me out."

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament!" Weiss went on."the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking!"

Yang let out a sigh. "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring."

"Quiet you!" Weiss glared at her as they made their way to the pier.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang said as they approached the pier. "We could be hanging out in Gabe's room right now. Speaking of which, where is 'splosion boy anyway?"

"Gabe told me that he'd be off for the afternoon training with team JNPR. Pyrrha requested it." Weiss told her.

"Geez doesn't anyone know how to relax?" Yang whined.

Ruby gagged. "Ugh, it smells like fish… bleh!"

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today." Weiss answered her. "And, as a representative of Beacon I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament." Blake clarified.

"You can't prove that!" Weiss snapped back.

"Woah..."

Their leader's sudden gasp halted the group. Turning to where Ruby was looking, they were welcomed by a rather unpleasant scene.

Through one of the alleys, they saw a shop that appeared to have been ransacked recently. It's doors had been busted down and windows shattered, with shards of glass covering the entire storefront. The crime scene was covered in police tape. Detectives were scattered around the site, conducting their investigation.

Curiosity got the better of them, and the four girls approached one of the investigators.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked the policeman.

The gruff man looked up from his notes. "Robbery. Second dust shop to be hit this week. This place is turning into a jungle."

"That's terrible." Yang scoffed.

"They left all the money again." They heard another officer exclaim.

"Yeah, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much Dust?"

"I dunno, you know what I mean?"

"You thinking the White Fang?"

"Yeah I'm thinking we don't get paid enough."

Weiss' face turned sour at the mention of the terrorist group. "The White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates."

"What's your problem?" Blake asked her.

Weiss looked at her incredulously "My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane."

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." Blake tried to reason out.

"Misguided?! They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet!" Weiss answered back.

"So then they're very misguided! Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Hmm Blake's got a point." Ruby said, siding with their raven haired teammate. "Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him?"

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum!" Weiss reiterated. "Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat and steal."

"That's not necessarily true." Yang told her, noticing Blake getting more agitated by the minute.

"HEY STOP THAT FAUNUS!"

The girls turned to the cry for help coming from one of the docked boats. They wasted no time and rushed over to check what was going on.

On the deck, they saw a faunus boy being chased by a couple of the ship's crew. He had messy blonde hair, wore a white loose collared jacket and blue cargo pants. On his arms he wore a couple of red studded bracers. Most distinct of all was what seemed like a monkey tail protruding from his back.

The boy jumped on the ships railing and looked back to his pursuers.

"Thanks for the ride guys!" He said smugly before jumping down onto the wooden docks. He bolted

"YOU NO GOOD STOW-AWAY!"

"Hey! A "No-good stow-away would have been caught! I'm a great stow-away" He answered back as he ran.

He rushed up the stairs to where team RWBY was watching the scene unfold. As the boy ran past the girls, he managed to lock eyes with Blake for a brief second and gave her a teasing wink.

The boy promptly turned left and disappeared into the corner still being chased by the nearby police.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition. There it goes." Yang told the heiress.

"Quick! We have to observe him!"

The rest of the team promptly followed Weiss as she ran after the faunus.

Unfortunately, she accidentally bumped into a random passerby as they turned a corner. Both of them fell harshly to the ground.

Weiss looked up, and saw the boy jump up one of the lamp post and disappear into another alley.

"No! He got away!" The white fencer whined.

"Uh.. Weiss…?" Yang said, pointing to the ground, or rather the person she had collided with.

Weiss looked below, and saw that she had bumped into a girl. Said girl giving her a rather peculiar smile, almost unnerving.

"Euh!" Weiss quickly got up.

"Salutations!" The girl greeted them with a wave of her hand.

"Um… hello" Ruby greeted back, not sure how to respond.

"Are you... okay?" Yang asked her.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." the girl replied, still laying down on the wooden dock.

The four girls looked to each other. This person was certainly a bit eccentric.

"Uhh do you want to get up?" Yang added.

"Yes!"

Using her hands and arms like a springboard, the girl sprang right back up. Team RWBY took a step back, getting a better look at the strange girl.

She had short, curly orange hair with a bow tied neatly at the back. She was wearing an old-fashioned grey blouse and feminine overalls, accentuated with green lines and patterns. Rounding out her ensemble were a matching collar and pair of stockings, both black and lined with green markings as well.

"My name is Penny. It's a pleasure to meet you!" she greeted them.

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Blake jabbed Yang by the elbow.

"Ow.. oh, I'm Yang."

Penny nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"You already said that." Weiss told her.

"So I did!"

"Well, sorry for running into you." Weiss apologized, and the team began to make their leave.

"Take care friend!" Ruby added with a wave of her hand.

* * *

"She was… weird." Yang said, stating the obvious.

"Now. Where did that faunus riffraff run off to?" Weiss exclaimed, trying to get back on track.

"What did you call me?"

The group was taken by surprise when they saw Penny standing right in front of them.

Yang tried to make a hasty apology while Weiss tried to process just how the girl managed to catch up with them almost instantaneously.

"Oh I'm sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me!"

Penny shook her head. "No not you." She walked to the end of the group and came face to face with Ruby.

"You!"

"Me?!" Ruby said nervously. "I-I don't know, I- what I- um, uh-"

"You called me 'friend'!. Am I really your friend?"

"Uhhhh…" Ruby said, words continuing to fail her. She thought this was how Gabe probably felt when she barraged him with questions about his weapon.

Ruby turned to her team for help. Blake, Weiss and Yang all made varying gestures of disapproval over Penny's shoulder, clearly not wanting to get involved with the strange girl further.

Unfortunately, Ruby couldn't take the hint.

"Yeah sure why not?"

At that line, her team collectively did a facepalm.

A smile started forming on Penny's face.

"Ahaha! SEEEEN-SATIONAL" She exclaimed raising her hands in celebration.

"We can paint our nails, and try on clothes, and talk about cute boys!"

Ruby continued to look at the girl perplexed. She suddenly recalled herself during her first day at Beacon.

"Is this what it was like when you met me?" She whispered to Weiss.

"No, she seems 'far' more coordinated." The Schnee heiress said in reply.

"Soo, what are you doing in Vale?" Yang asked.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament!"

The answer piqued Weiss' interest. "Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?" She asked, clearly not convinced.

"I'm combat ready!" Penny saluted to her.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part." Weiss told her matter-of-factly.

"Says the girl wearing a dress?" Blake pointed out.

"It's a combat skirt." Weiss defended.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed, and the two exchanged a small high-five.

It was at that moment that Weiss realized something. She walked up to Penny.

"Wait, if you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?" Weiss asked, grabbing the girl by her shoulders.

"The who?"

"The filthy faunus from the boat!" Weiss took out a crudely drawn image of the boy they were chasing.

Weiss' offhand remark managed to tick Blake off once again. "Why do you keep saying that?"

Weiss looked to her "Huh?"

"Stop calling him a rapscallion. Stop calling him a degenerate. He's a person!" The black haired girl continued.

"Oh I'm sorry, would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can, or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!" Blake snapped, her fists shaking.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time and he'll probably join up with those other faunus in the White Fang." Weiss asserted.

The last line was the final straw for Blake.

"YOU IGNORANT LITTLE BRAT!" Blake snapped. Losing her temper, she walked away from the group.

"How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!" Weiss answered back. She then went after Blake and the two proceeded to argue.

The two sisters just observed at the debate that ensued between their teammates.

"I think we should go." Yang said, not wanting to create a scene.

"Where are we going?" Penny asked innocently.

Ruby just hung her head in defeat.

* * *

"...W-w-water"

Pyrrha and Gabe looked down at Jaune, who had collapsed from exhaustion. They had been doing some combat practice in preparation for the tournament, as well as to see how far Jaune has come along in his training.

"I guess asking you to help out was a bit too much for Jaune to handle." Pyrrha laughed nervously.

"Ahehe, sorry about that." Gabe told her, scratching the back of his head.

"C'mon." Pyrrha motioned him to help carry the blonde.

After laying their unconscious leader on one of the benches the two returned to the center of the ring.

"So what now?" Gabe asked her.

"Well, since we're already here…" Pyrrha brandished her shield and sword. "How about a quick spar?"

"Me? Against one of the school's best fighters? Do I really have to?" Gabe said reluctantly.

"Oh come on Gabe! You really should give yourself more credit." Pyrrha encouraged him. "I saw your moves earlier. You know how to fight."

"I'll take it as a compliment." Gabe told her. He brandished his sword. "Anyway, I'll bite just this once. It's not like I've got anything better to do anyway."

"Oh before we begin, I'd like to make a request."

"What is it?" Gabe asked her.

"Use your semblance."

Gabe flinched. "Uhh my semblance?"

"Yes. I want to see how you fight with it." Pyrrha told him.

Gabe paused for a moment. He had withheld using it against Jaune to even out the playing field, as the blonde still had to figure out his own unique ability.

He took a moment to survey their area. They were currently training in the open field behind the amphitheater. It was an expansive, empty piece of land. After considering the power of his explosions so far as well as their distance from any buildings, he decided that it was as good a time as any to train his semblance. Besides, he needed the practice if he was going to become a competent hunter.

"Alright you're on." Gabe said. In his hand the Junkyard's internal mechanisms began spinning, its distinct whirr resonated in the air. Pyrrha perked up with a smile and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Okay, on three!" Pyrrha said, and both fighters went to their stances.

"One"

"Two"

"Three!"

The two dashed forward head-on, colliding in the middle of their makeshift ring, metal clashing on metal. The pair broke off and without taking so much as a step back, began exchanging blow for blow, neither one letting up.

Gabe threw a particularly powerful strike. Pyrrha managed to block it with her shield, but she could feel her knees buckle at the force of the blow.

The girl winced. Just how strong was he?

The boy wasted no time and immediately threw a punch with his offhand. Pyrrha jumped back and dodged the incoming blow. She landed a good distance away from her opponent, taking a moment to recover.

' _I can't take him head on. That power is something else.'_ Pyrrha noted mentally. ' _If that's the case, then I'll just have to find another way to get in'_

In a flash, her sword transformed into a javelin and she hurled it towards Gabe. The boy dodged it to the side and began rushing towards her. As he closed the distance, he noticed that the girl made a strange gesture with her hand, as if motioning for something to come toward her. Thinking quickly Gabe looked behind him. The Javelin had turned around and was shooting toward him once again.

Gabe reacted on instinct and jumped to avoid it a second time. By this point, the two combatants were nearly within arms reach. Pyrrha caught the weapon as it reverted back into sword form. With Gabe still in the air, he was left wide open. Pyrrha went in for the decisive strike.

Seeing no other options left, Gabe held the Junkyard up front between Pyrrha and himself. The girl realized what was about to happen and immediately raised her shield in anticipation. A blast suddenly erupted from the weapon. Pyrrha managed to block the attack while Gabe was propelled to the opposite end of their makeshift ring. He managed to lodge his sword in the ground to halt his momentum. Down on one knee, he looked back at his training partner across the arena.

"Good reaction." Pyrrha complimented. "But let's see how you handle this!"

Gabe suddenly felt the weapon shift in his hand. "Huh?" A few seconds later he could feel the Junkyard being pulled from his grasp by an unseen force.

Gabe mustered his strength to keep hold of the sword. "So I take it your semblance has something to do with telekinesis?" Gabe grunted as he struggled with his weapon.

Pyrrha shook her head. "It's polarity, I have control over magnetism." She explained before wincing. She didn't think that his sword would be this heavy, or that Gabe would be able to resist her semblance for this long. "That strength of yours sure is impressive. I've never had this problem before."

As the their tug of war continued, Gabe's fingers had unknowingly slipped and held the trigger on the sword's grip. The Junkyard split open lengthwise and the cylinder began spinning once again. Gabe had been too focused on holding on to his weapon to notice. By the time he realized what was happening, sparks were already flying from the spinning mechanism as the inner blade began glowing deep orange.

' _Shit! This is bad!'_

Before he could tell the girl to ease up, his grip finally gave way. The sword was now hurtling towards Pyrrha.

"PYRRHA WATCH OUT!" Gabe yelled in panic.

Luckily, Pyrrha heard his outcry and managed to halt the sword mid-air using her semblance. The Junkyard stopped right in front of her, it's glow becoming more intense as the cylinder spun faster.

Gabe wasted no time, launching himself towards the Junkyard with his semblance. In a flash, he grabbed the weapon and threw it away from them as hard as he possibly could. Then he immediately took hold of Pyrrha, keeping her close before turning his back towards the ticking time bomb.

A few moments later a thundering blast erupted from the sword. The explosion was so powerful that they felt the ground beneath them rumble as if in an earthquake. Gabe continued to shield Pyrrha as they were knocked forward off their feet.

"WHA-?!" Jaune snorted, awoken by the sudden bang.

The explosion only lasted for a brief moment. After the flashing and the noise dissipated, both Pyrrha and Gabe struggled to stand upright, their knees still shaking. After the dust had settled, the three of them looked toward the direction of the blast.

From the vast open field behind them, there was now a crater of massive proportions. Cracks were strewn all over the blast site, all them stemming from the center where they saw Gabe's sword. Around the vicinity little embers flickered on the burnt patches of grass and vegetation.

The three were speechless, stunned in place as they gandered at the sight before them. Pyrrha and Jaune knew what Gabe's semblance did, but this was the first time they saw what it fully unleashed. For Gabe, the destruction around them was all too familiar, reminiscent of his first day in Remnant.

"So I guess… training over?" Jaune commented, letting out a nervous laugh.

* * *

The blast was heard throughout the school, and people wasted no time flocking to the area to see what had happened. Once the commotion died down, Gabe, Pyrrha and Jaune were sent to the headmaster's office to explain the incident.

After they finished giving their full accounts, Ozpin let out a sigh.

"Well, let's just be thankful that no one was seriously injured." He concluded. "While we encourage students to work hard and train, part of being responsible huntsmen and huntresses is learning how and when to exercise caution, especially when it comes to their semblance."

"Understood sir." All three of them said, bowing their heads in apology.

"Now run along, we don't want to waste any more of your weekend now would we?" Ozpin said, his voice on a much lighter tone this time.

The sun had already set by the time their appointment had ended. Pyrrha, Jaune and Gabe were just arriving at the dorms.

"Well, that was quite the Friday afternoon." Jaune remarked, trying to lift their spirits.

"I'm just glad no one got hurt." Pyrrha turned to Gabe.

Gabe on the other hand said nothing.

"Gabe?"

Still no response

"Gabe!"

"H-Huh?" the boy finally muttered.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at him with concern. Their friend had been silent since they left the headmaster's office.

"Are you alright man?" Jaune asked him.

Gabe just looked away.

"Sorry guys... but I'd like to be alone for a bit." He told them, before trudging glumly past the two and retreating to his room, shutting the door. Pyrrha and Jaune shared a look of worry.

Gabe slumped face first on his bed.

It happened again. He lost control of his semblance.

He didn't show it, but the incident back in Signal when he blew up the dorms had bothered him a lot, more so than he had let either Ozpin or Qrow know. It took weeks before he was able to fully get over it.

Beyond the damage to infrastructure, it was at that time when Gabe came to realize how harmful his semblance can be. It was one of the major reasons why he worked himself to the bone to hone his skills with it.

Yet despite his efforts, he lost control once again.

The worst of it was he gravely endangered someone he actually cared about. The thought of what might have happened to Pyrrha had the weapon detonated in front of her sent a chill down his spine. He felt all the confidence he had garnered through constant training starting to bubble away.

With his involuntary crying from last week and now this, he began questioning himself. Had he made any significant strides at all? Was he actually in control or was he still the same scared boy when he came to Remnant?

His overthinking was cut short when he heard an argument breaking out in the hallway.

It took a while, but he came to recognize the two voices as they entered the room beside his.

* * *

"You realize you're defending an organization that hates humanity don't you?" Weiss questioned Blake. "The faunus of the White Fang are pure evil!"

"There is no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much?! It's because of people like Cardin, people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!" Blake rebutted

"People like me?!"

"You're discriminatory!"

"I'M A VICTIM" Weiss shouted indignantly.

The room suddenly fell silent.

"Do you want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the faunus?" Weiss began.

"It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War. Actual bloodshed."

"My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear, board members executed."

"Everyday, my father would come home furious, and that made for a very difficult childhood."

Sensing that things were entering dangerous territory, Ruby tried to step in.

"Weiss I-"

Weiss was having none of it.

"You want to know why I despise the White Fang?! It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves And murderers!"

"WELL MAYBE WE WERE JUST TIRED OF BEING PUSHED AROUND!" Blake snapped.

It took a moment before she realized what just came out of her mouth. Ruby, Weiss and Yang were all wide-eyed.

"I- I-" unable to muster a proper response, Blake swiftly ran out of the room.

"Blake! Wait! Come back!" Ruby called out rushing to the door. Unfortunately the girl was already long gone.

* * *

Blake sprinted as far as her legs could take her. Her mind was a mess. She had accidentally revealed her secret in a fit of rage, and ended up fleeing in panic rather than face the inevitable questions that were to follow. Her breath running ragged, she found herself in front of the Beacon Academy Statue.

She gazed upon the monument, a reminder of their responsibility as huntresses and huntsmen: to be the overseers, protectors of the people against all harm, be it grimm or anything else.

The sight made her feel inadequate. Her hands slowly came to the bow tied on her head. She undid the fabric, slowly revealing a pair of cat ears underneath.

Escaping from her past affiliation with the White Fang was the driving force that pushed her to enter Beacon. She had hoped that by eventually becoming a huntress, she could somehow atone for her mistakes. Unfortunately, it seems that her past wasn't something so easily discarded.

She held the bow tightly in her hand, frustrated. She rubbed her eyes softly, trying to contain the tears that were threatening to come out.

Caught in her emotional roller coaster, Blake failed to notice that she wasn't alone.

"I knew you'd look better without the bow."


End file.
